Calls for national chlamydia screening

A LEADING health charity has called for a national screening programme for one of the most common sexually transmitted infections after discovering that one in five young people attending one of its clinics had the fertility-threatening bug.

The Well Woman Centre believes free screening for chlamydia should be offered to all under-25s either through dedicated clinics, GPs or even by prepaid post using pharmacies to distribute containers for collecting urine samples at home.

Chlamydia affects both men and women but does more harm to women, in worst cases causing infertility, pelvic inflammation and ectopic pregnancies. But although it is easily curable, it often has no symptoms so a patient won’t know they’ve had it until they have routine screening or investigate the reasons for difficulties conceiving.