By AMY BIRCHALL
ALMOST 1000 University of Canberra students could have chlamydia and not realise it, according to recent statistics from Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT.
The latest pathology data collected by SHFPACT suggests that 1 in 14 sexually active people under 25 years of age have chlamydia and may not be aware of it.
The manager of communications and promotions at SHFPACT, Matt Schmidt, was hesitant to label the prevalence of chlamydia in the ACT as an outbreak.
However, he said that it was still a sexual health issue of concern.
“Chlamydia certainly is quite prevalent in Canberra and is the most common sexually transmissible infection in Australia,” he said.
Dr Jenny Leung, a senior medical officer at one of Canberra’s busiest sexual health clinics, said that up to 15 percent of patients tested for chlamydia received positive test results.
She had seen an increase in the number of young people being diagnosed with chlamydia “compared to ten years ago”.
She said that this increase could be because recent chlamydia awareness campaigns have encouraged more people to get tested than in previous years.
More relaxed attitudes towards contraception could also be a contributing factor.
“Only about half of young people use condoms consistently with casual sex partners,” Mr Schmidt said.
SHFPACT’s latest Chlamydia prevention project, Stamp Out Chlamydia (SOC), offers on-the-spot testing for chlamydia at public events and youth venues in Canberra as well as raising awareness of the infection.
The project also ran the Sexual Health and Guidance (SHAG) Week Twilight Fair at the University of Canberra last week (1-5 March 2010).
Dr Leung said that the SOC project was particularly effective in minimising chlamydia infection rates by encouraging people to get tested.
“Many of my patients come in because they’ve seen the ads or heard of the SOC campaign and thought they should be tested,” she said.
Mr Schmidt said that it was important to remind young people to get tested for chlamydia, because chlamydia usually has no symptoms.
“Most people never think of getting tested,” he said.
The stigma associated with sexually transmitted infections prevented many young people from visiting their doctor.
“Almost everyone has sex, but it’s still easier to go to the doctor about a cold, or a broken bone, than to go and make sure your sexual health is okay,” Mr Schmidt said.
Young people can minimise their risk of transmitting chlamydia by using a condom with casual sex partners and being educated about safe sex.
“Sexual intimacy can be a wonderful thing – enjoy it safely,” said Schmidt said.
To find out more information about Chlamydia, visit Stamp Out Chlamydia
