the love bugs
by Pat Troop, Chief Executive of the Health Protection Agency
Last year over 621,000 people were diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the UK and over 960,000 went to be tested at a genitourinary medicine clinic. It's good news that so many people are coming forward for testing, but we need to ask ourselves what we can do to bring down the number of people who are picking up these infections.
Young people between 16-24 years of age are often the worst hit by these infections. Some of the most common sexually transmitted infections are gonorrhoea, chlamydia and genital warts which are at their highest levels in the 16-24 age range. Because teenage girls tend to have slightly older boyfriends and partners, most infections are seen in girls aged 16-19 years old and men aged 20-24 years of age.
The high rates among young people are thought to be due to young people having more sexual partners and not using protection. In the 16-24 age group, for the five main STI infections, there were 139,157 new diagnoses at GUM clinics in 2006, including 60,433 new diagnoses in young men and 78,724 new diagnoses in young women. This is an increase of 4,457 infections, a 3.3 per cent increase on the previous year.
Why should I care?
Some STIs can have no symptoms. If a person does not know they are infected and does not get treated they can be storing up some serious long-term health problems. Women infected with chlamydia often show no symptoms with 70 per cent having no symptoms at all. By the time they realise they have chlamydia it can be too late, and it may result in ectopic pregnancies later in life or in the loss of their fertility, caused by pelvic inflammatory disease. It can be particularly heartbreaking for young women to lose the chance of having children in later life, when they could protect themselves or be tested and treated.
Another worrying trend is the high percentage of gonorrhoea that is found in teenage girls compared to the rest of the population; forty per cent of all cases of gonorrhoea are found in teenage girls. Like chlamydia, gonorrhoea can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease and loss of fertility. It is also possible to pass the infections on to babies when they are being delivered.
Viral infections are also on the increase in young people and a cause for concern. Last year genital herpes increased by 16 per cent in 16-19 year old women and 10 per cent in 20-24 year old men. Genital herpes is an infection that can last a lifetime and may reoccur over a number of years requiring repeated treatment. Symptoms start with tenderness around the genitals and surrounding area, followed by the appearance of groups of small blisters. It can be a distressing infection as it affects people for a large part of their life, but is particularly upsetting when it affects young people and will be passed on to their future partners.
Genital herpes can also make it easier to catch HIV due to the open blisters that it causes. The open sores, allow the mixing of fluids during sex and transfer of the HIV virus. If contracted late in pregnancy herpes also puts a mother's baby at risk and may require a caesarean section, to continue with a natural birth can result in harm to the baby.
How do I protect myself?
To protect against sexually transmitted infections condoms should be used with all new and casual partners. It is also advisable to be tested if you have unprotected sex with a new partner and believe you are at risk.
What should I do if I have symptoms?
If you have symptoms you must go and see your local genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic, it is important if you have an STI to get tested and treated as soon as possible. Most STIs can be treated and need to be dealt with rapidly to prevent progression of the infection and to prevent passing it on to others.
Hope for the future
This year has seen an increase in the number of people taking the brave step forward and being tested. In 2006 GUM clinics performed nearly one million sexual health screens. More people having check-ups suggests an increased awareness and greater understanding of the responsibility we all have, to ourselves and to our partners.
Young people can also now get tested for chlamydia in places other than just a GUM clinic. The National Chlamydia Screening Programme is able to provide a test each year to all sexually active under 25 year olds. Accessible testing for chlamydia will speed up identification of the infection and prevent it being passed on to other people, reducing its frequency and prevalence in the population.
The Government is looking at implementing an immunisation programme to protect young women against HPV (Human Papillomavirus). HPV is a sexually transmitted infection thought to be fairly common in the population. It is responsible for genital warts and all cases of cervical cancer. The new immunisation campaign will be a big step forward in safeguarding women's health.
Read on for details of relevant organisations, websites and reading.
(October 2007)
