Innovative approach to Chlamydia screening increases treatment of silent infection

UK (SANEPR.com) June 27, 2008 -- A drive to increase Chlamydia screening in Bournemouth and Poole has revealed around one in 11 sexually active 15-24 year olds has the sexually transmitted infection.
The innovative approach, which included the use of DIY postal testing kits and results by text message, helped encourage almost 4,000 local young people to take the test. A course of antibiotics for the 339 local people who tested positive quickly cleared the infection.
If undetected for a longer period of time, Chlamydia can cause serious long-term problems including infertility in men and women, ectopic pregnancy and pelvic inflammatory disease.
Bournemouth and Poole Teaching Primary Care Trust has boosted its screening programme for the coming year thanks to a £35,000 grant from Bournemouth 2026, an organisation working to make life better here. The money has helped to fund additional testing equipment and increase the number of testing sites.
Dolly Renahan, Chlamydia Screening Coordinator at the PCT, said: “The vast majority of sexually active young people who test positive for Chlamydia have no symptoms. It is very easy to treat but can lead to serious problems if it goes undetected for a long time.
“Anyone under 25 who is sexually active should take a test now. Just like we regularly look after our teeth and have our blood pressure taken, we need to look after our sexual health.
“The NHS screening service is confidential and non-judgemental. This is not just an infection associated with promiscuous behaviour; some people are unlucky enough to catch the infection during their first sexual experience. Offering the DIY kit helps people who might be embarrassed to take the test and enables them to access follow-up treatment and advice about good sexual health.”
The Sexual Health Team is out in the community in colleges, universities and clinics offering opportunistic Chlamydia screening to sexually active under 25 year olds.
The self-testing kit can be requested via the sexual health website www.f-risky.co.uk (which features advice about good sexual health) or by calling 0844 8004846. Patients can either receive their results by text message or via letter.