THE number of teenage girls contracting chlamydia has soared in the Lothians, as cases of the sexually transmitted disease hit a record high.
Ten new cases are being reported to health chiefs every day, despite endless awareness campaigns targeted at both young and old.
NHS Lothian says the rise is due to a better detection rate, rather than more people actually catching the disease.
However, Mary Scanlon MSP, Tory health spokeswoman, argued the message was not getting through. She said: "It is clear that the information in schools regarding sexually transmitted infections is either inappropriate or simply not being taken seriously. The information given has to be looked at, as does the way it is delivered so that young women and young men understand the long-term effects if it goes undiagnosed."
The figures, released by Health Protection Scotland, show 3448 people were diagnosed with chlamydia in the Lothians 2008, up by 300 from the year before.
It means cases of the disease, which can lie undetected for years, havetrebled in a decade. Infection among young women, particularly teenage girls,is the biggest cause for concern.
Those aged 20-24 are most at risk, and nationally 61 girls and two boys under 15 were infected last year. More than 4500 teenage girls were diagnosed nationwide, compared to 1243 ten years ago.
Dr Gordon Scott, a consultant in genitourinary medicine for NHS Lothian, said: "We've made it much easier for people to be tested and the increase in positive tests for chlamydia we're seeing is a reflection of that. Eventually, as we follow through our aims to improve sexual health services and influence the cultural and social factors that impact on sexual health, we hope to see a fall in the number of positive tests."
The surveillance report update did provide some good news for Lothian health chiefs. The number of herpes cases fell from last year by nearly 100, with 386 diagnoses, while gonorrhoea rose from 2007, but remained lower than at any other time since 2002.
Chlamydia is easily treated once discovered, but can generally only be found by people turning up for voluntary testing, as symptoms can be few and far between.
A Health Protection Scotland statement said: "It should be noted that much of the increase in chlamydia diagnoses in the past ten years is due to a combination of issues including increased opportunistic testing, the use of more sensitive diagnostic tests and increased awareness through health promotion campaigns. There is no doubt that very large numbers of people are infected (and) the data indicates that casual unprotected sexual intercourse among young heterosexuals remains a problem in Scotland."
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www.tht.org.uk• www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.ukThe full article contains 461 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
