In the Dark Over Chlamydia

Thursday, 04 February 2010

A huge increase in the number of infertile women could occur in coming years despite a  £150 M government programme to counteract the spread of Chlamydia - the most commonly diagnosed sexually transmitted infection.

That's the view of Southport MP, John Pugh, a member of the influential Commons Public Accounts Committee which has just released a report criticising the government programme for being uncoordinated and inefficient

John Pugh, MP said: "Chlamydia is a particular problem in our region. Out of the screening measured by the National Programme, the North-West had the highest number of positive tests recorded, at 56759. Of these there were only 1419 tests taken of sexual partners."

Over the last decade Merseyside has seen the largest increase in sexually transmitted diseases in the UK.

Sefton NHS has uprated its services and responding to criticism has drop in centres for sexual health in all areas including now Southport, spending £2.2 million on these services.

The government are spending £150 million nationally on combatting this problem but the findings shown to parliament show that  the money is not very well used and haphazardly distributed. People are uncertain about what works. Its clear though  that prevention is better than cure  and that means the tough business of changing behaviours.

"As part of research and evidence gathering for this report, I was able to question Dr Ruth Hussey, Director of Public Health for Merseyside. I put it to her that the best way of gauging how successful the scheme is would be to look at the areas that had good screening practice and examine if infection rates had decreased. She told me that the evidence was not yet clear on this and had to be evaluated.

All the research however does show an obvious connection between catching a sexually transmitted disease and binge drinking in the case of young people . Clearly the ultimate solution requires life style changes. Although the  symptoms of chlymydia may be less evident than the hangover , the effects on a woman's fertility and life is more enduring. Effective screening and testing can though counteract these very serious consequences."