Ten chlamydia cases a day diagnosed in the Lothians

Published on Tuesday 23 December 2008 09:09

CASES of the country's most common sexual disease have hit ten a day in the Lothians, latest figures have shown.

Clinics and GPs diagnosed more than 2500 chlamydia cases between January and September of this year, significantly up from the same period last year.

Other sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhoea and herpes are also causing concern.

NHS Lothian bosses said the rise was down to the willingness of more people to come forward for testing, rather than a material increase, and, once sexual health messages had taken hold, the number would eventually drop.

But charities have warned too much ignorance still surrounds infections such as chlamydia, and said that any kind of disease passed sexually should act as a warning when it comes to more serious infections such as HIV.

"Anyone who does get chlamydia should really think about what they are doing, because if you leave yourself open to that, you are also risking HIV as well," said Ailsa Spindler, national director in Scotland for sexual health charity the Terrence Higgins Trust.

"Of course, HIV is more serious, but the scale of chlamydia is alarming, and while there are more people being tested for it, it is still largely undiagnosed in some quarters."

Figures released by Health Protection Scotland show that in the last eight months there have been 2551 cases of chlamydia, 147 of gonorrhoea and 312 of herpes in the Lothians.

Anyone who is sexually active is technically at risk from the disease. Often symptoms never materialise, meaning people can live with the condition for years in ignorance, and health complications include infertility for men and pelvic and pregnancy problems for women.

Ms Spindler added: "It is highly treatable. A quick course of antibiotics is all it takes."

The news comes weeks after the Evening News revealed levels of HIV in the Capital have worsened beyond those seen in the 1980s, when parts of the city were notorious for the infection. At that time, it was drug-using needle sharers who were at risk, but now the spread of the virus is mainly confined to gay men.

A number of initiatives are taking place to increase awareness and testing of chlamydia, including the option of postal kits.

Dr Anna Glasier, NHS Lothian's lead clinician in sexual health, said: "The increase in positive tests for chlamydia is a reflection of the increased numbers of tests we've been carrying out.

"Eventually, as the main aims of the Scottish Government Sexual Health Strategy start to be met, we hope to see a fall in the number who test positive for chlamydia."

The three points of the campaign are improving sexual health services; bettering awareness of risks; and dealing with social and cultural factors that influence sexual health.