Young targeted in Facebook campaign against chlamydia

Around 40,000 young people aged between 15 and 25 will be targeted in the Facebook campaign by NHS North Yorkshire and York which urges people to get screened for chlamydia.

Hundreds of people in the county as young as 15 have tested positive for the infection, which affects up to one in 10 of the sexually active population and can cause long-term health problems including infertility.

But research has found the majority of young people do not bother getting tested because of embarrassment and casual attitudes toward sexual transmitted infections.

It is hoped the new campaign will spark many into action.

The matron for sexual health services at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Virginia Smith, said: "We have never done a campaign like this before and I never expected to see us on Facebook but we are hoping it will make a big difference.

"It is a call to action for young people to get tested and a new way of providing them with information.

"It does not cost as much as traditional methods such as churning out posters and leaflets but we are targeting more than 37,000 young people to get screening tests through it.

"I think this is the turning point for how a lot of sexual health campaigns will look in North Yorkshire in the future – it is definitely the way forward."

In England last year, nearly 60,000 people between 15 and 24 tested positive for the infection.

A total of 15,900 young people in the 15 to 24 age bracket were screened in North Yorkshire; one in 12 tested positive.

There has been a dramatic leap in the number of cases of chlamydia in the county, from 100 in 1995 to nearly 1,000 in 2006.

The screening programme involves a urine test, and anyone found to have the infection can be treated effectively with a course of antibiotics.

Anyone who does not seek treatment can endure long-term health consequences including miscarriages and premature birth for women and infertility for men.