The infertility timebomb

Promiscuous young people who have unprotected sex face an infertility timebomb, according to research published today.

Six out of ten 16 to 24-year- olds say they use condoms only 'sometimes' or 'never', while a quarter admit to having two or three partners a year.

This is despite a record incidence among their age group of the sexually transmitted disease chlamydia, which can wreck fertility.

Family planning experts warned yesterday - the start of Sexual Health Week - that the Government is not doing enough to stop the increase in chlamydia cases.

They want an immediate national screening programme for women under 25.

One in ten sexually active women of that age group is infected with the disease.

Alarmingly, the survey suggests that among under-16s who have sex, the infection rate is even higher, at one in seven. Ten per cent of men from 16 to their late 20s also carry the disease.

Anne Weyman, chief executive of the Family Planning Association, said: 'Opportunistic screening for women under 25 is a must.

'Over 200 people a day will be diagnosed with chlamydia during Sexual Health Week, yet the screening programme has been delayed due to a lack of significant and sustained investment.

'This is a crazy, false economy on the part of the Government considering that dealing with the consequences of untreated chlamydia, such as ectopic pregnancy, pelvic inflammatory disease and fertility problems costs the NHS an estimated £50million a year.'

So far, the Government's £1.5million national screening programme for 16 to 25-yearolds is only being trialled in ten areas in England through family planning and hospital clinics.

The survey of 1,000 men and women aged 16 to 50, carried out by NOP for the Family Planning Association, revealed that - across all ages - only 10 per cent of people in a relationship who had used condoms in the past year said they had a test for sexually transmitted disease when changing partners.

The same percentage said they use condoms specifically to prevent sexually transmitted infections.

Just over 40 per cent said they had not changed their sexual behaviour over the last year in the light of what they knew about infections, including chlamydia.

Between 1995 and 2000, reported cases of chlamydia soared from 30,877 to 64,000.

Latest Health Protection Agency figures show more than 81,000 cases of the disease were treated at clinics last year in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the infection is now the most

commonly diagnosed sexually transmitted disease.

Nearly 19,000 cases were diagnosed last year in the 16 to 24 age group.

Mrs Weyman said there was still a need to create a ' condom culture' to protect sexual health and future fertility.

She said: 'This means more open and honest discussion both at school, through sex and relationships education and in the home, combined with easy access to high quality sexual health services and free condom schemes for all.'

Beverly Malone, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing said a screening programme was needed to counter the rapid rise in chalmydia.

'Patients require access to care at the earliest possible opportunity yet the current system means they suffer delays due to an overburdened service,' she said.

'Chlamydia, like many other sexual infections, is a condition that can be easily treated but has dire consequences if not. Under-funding of sexual health services is putting patients at risk.'

A Department of Health spokesman said: 'We have already rolled out the first phase of the chlamydia screening programme to ten sites and will be doubling the size of the programme later this year with an additional ten sites and further investment.'

He added that reducing waiting times for appointments would not happen overnight but the NHS was working to reverse the rising trend in infections.

Doctors are also dealing with a massive rise in syphilis cases, a disease rife in Victorian times.

The number of men diagnosed rose by 67 per cent and women by 33 per cent in a year, according to the Health Protection Agency.