Blackpool Council Annual Health Report 2019 Blackpool Council Annual Health Report PAGES | Page 36

SEXUAL HEALTH
Young people aged 15-24 are the age group most affected by sexual infections and there
are rising numbers of people under 24 years of age living with HIV 24 . Nationally around two
thirds of new STI diagnoses are in women under 25 years old. Over half of new diagnoses
in men are also in the under-25s 25 . Adolescence and young adulthood is a time when
individuals often begin to explore their sexuality, and is an important time to educate
about sexual health.
Chlamydia is the most commonly diagnosed bacterial sexually transmitted infection in
England, with rates substantially higher in young adults than any other age group. It causes
avoidable sexual and reproductive ill health, including symptomatic acute infections and
complications such as pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy and tubal-factor
infertility. The National Chlamydia Screening Programme recommends screening for all
sexually active young people under 25 annually or on change of partner (whichever is
more frequent) 26 . Other infections with prominent emphasis for young people are the
human papilloma virus (HPV) and recently in the UK headlines, an increasing prevalence of
multi-drug resistant gonorrhoea.
In 2017, Blackpool had the second highest rate of chlamydia diagnoses in 15-24 year
olds nationally, and this is reflective of the success of the 15-24 chlamydia screening
programme, which achieved the third highest proportion of 15-24 year olds tested.
Blackpool also has the highest rates of detection of STIs in under-25 year olds in the North
West (excluding chlamydia).
HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that is associated with cervical (and other) cancers.
In 2008 a universal programme of HPV vaccination in girls aged 12-13 years in schools
was rolled out. Blackpool has achieved a similar rate of HPV vaccination coverage to the
national rate (two doses for females 13-14 years old), but has not yet reached the ideal
target of greater than 90%.
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24. http://nursinginpractice.com/article/hiv-and-aids-update
25. https://www.nursinginpractice.com/article/sexual-health-young-people
26. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sexually-transmitted-infections-stis-surveillance-data-screening-and-management