Sex infections continue to rise
 

The number of sexually transmitted infections in England, Wales and Northern Ireland rose by 4% last year, figures show.
The Health Protection Agency said cases of chlamydia - the most common sexually transmitted infection - jumped by 9%.

Overall, around 700,000 people a year are diagnosed with an STI.

It is thought complacency about condom use, increased numbers of sexual partners and long waits for treatment may all be helping to fuel the trend.


However, the rate of increase is starting to slow down.

Professor Pat Troop, HPA chief executive, said there were some hopeful signs. For instance, the number of new cases of gonorrhoea has fallen by 3%.

The number of STIs increased throughout the 1990s, with chlamydia seeing a 140% rise in just six years. There are now around 90,000 new cases diagnosed each year.

Chlamydia can cause infertility. However, it can be difficult to pick up, as often no symptoms are apparent.

Professor Troop said the idea that teenagers were most at risk was wrong - the highest rates of infection were often among people in their twenties.

She said: "If people have a number of partners, if they have casual sex and don't take precautions, they are putting themselves and others at risk.

"Individuals have to take responsibility for their own behaviour, and not take the risks that they are taking at the moment."

Open discussion

Professor Troop said sex education needed to be more substantial, and open debate about sexual issues should be encouraged.

"We are not giving young people the opportunity to discuss some of these issues so that they can handle the relationships, and the problems they are going to encounter."

The chief executive of the Brook Advisory Centres group, Jan Barlow, said there was evidence to suggest young people were more aware of STIs, particularly for common infections such as chlamydia.

But she said there was a long way to go, particularly in educating young people.

"We need to keep getting the message out that basically anyone who has unprotected sex is putting themselves at risk of infection."

She said it was as still a common perception that STIs "happen to other people and not to them".

Brooke is calling for sex and relationships education to be made a compulsory part of the National Curriculum in schools.

Tuesday's figures come ahead of a report by the Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson, which is expected to reveal concerns about the number of undetected cases of HIV.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3928539.stm