Chlamydia screening is a success (From Warrington Guardian)

Chlamydia screening is a success

3:00pm Sunday 12th July 2009 in News By Joanna Lean - health correspondent

CHLAMYDIA screening in Warrington has taken a dramatic turn for the better, ranking the town 21st best in the country.

By the end of March 20.7 per cent of the town’s under 25s had been screened for the often symptomless infection.

The figure is a marked increase from the 2.8 per cent that had been screened at the start of September.

The statistics, announced at last Wednesday’s board meeting, came after it was announced that the National Chlamydia Screening Programme was falling below its targets.

But in areas where the Terrence Higgins Trust had run a pilot screening programme, which Warrington was included in, the numbers screened exceeded the target.

Nine primary care trusts ran the programme, which included postal tests, and their average test levels were 23.3 per cent.

Of the tests carried out in Warrington, 8.9 per cent were positive.

* If you are aged under 25 and have a Warrington postcode you can order a postal chlamydia test from the Terrence Higgins Trust at tht.org.uk.