Party warning as chlamydia tests hit Celtic Tiger levels

Testing for chlamydia, the most common sexually transmitted infection, is now back at Celtic Tiger levels, prompting warnings about the dangers of unprotected sex after office Christmas parties.

The Dublin Well Woman Centre’s three clinics carried out 4,576 chlamydia tests so far this year, a figure that surpasses full-year totals for each of the last five years.

In 2008, 4,791 people were tested; 4,247 in 2009; 3,826 in 2010; 3,934 in 2011; 4,424 in 2012; and 4,182 in 2013.