Current Issues: September |
| Story 2 | |
| Teenagers 'ignoring safe
sex message' |
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The latest statistics from the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS), released yesterday, show that gonorrhoea increased by 25 per cent in England last year and genital chlamydia by 16 per cent. The greatest increases were among teenagers aged 16 to 19. Gonorrhoea rose by 39 per cent among teenage boys and 24 per cent among girls in the same age group, while chlamydia increased by 23 per cent among boys and by 20 per cent among girls. "These trends are worrying and clearly indicate that safer sex is not being maintained," Dr Kevin Fenton of the PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, said. "We cannot afford to be complacent about safer sex. It is vital that prevention messages are delivered to those at risk. Young people are particularly vulnerable as many are unaware of sexually transmitted infections and their symptoms. This may place them at increased risk of acquiring infections. Young people are often unaware of available sexual health services or feel intimidated attending them." Cases of chlamydia often go undiagnosed because the infection may have no symptoms, but it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancies and infertility. Anne Weyman, chief executive of the Family Planning Association, said: "The continuing rise in sexually transmitted infections indicates young people are not getting the information and services they need to protect their sexual health. "Comprehensive sex education from an early age would ensure young people acquire the knowledge they need to protect themselves and develop the skills necessary to negotiate relationships, including the use of condoms." The anti-abortion charity, Life, blamed the changes on the permissive society. A Life spokesman said: "We have been warning against this for some time. Maybe, instead of advocating more choice, we ought to think about encouraging more abstinence, waiting longer and choosing one's partner more carefully." In 1999 there were 15,572 cases of gonorrhoea diagnosed in England, up from 12,501 in 1998. Incidence of the disease has increased by 56 per cent since 1995. Genital chlamydia cases in England have almost doubled since 1995, from 29,286 to 51,083 in 1999. Cases of syphilis have also increased sharply, rising by 56 per cent between 1998 and 1999. Syphilis is a much less common disease, with only 203 cases recorded in England last year, compared with 130 the year before. |
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