Incentives For Chlamydia Testing

Britain's National Health Service (NHS) teamed up with the Accrington Stanley football club and a health charity called b-sure to offer free screening tests for the sexually transmitted disease (STD) known as chlamydia to football fans after a recent game. The football club, who played Bradford City on the first Saturday of March 2010, is hoping to raise public awareness of chlamydia among young men in the Lancashire area. B-sure took responsibility for performing the confidential screening tests for the football fans.

Rising Issue

Chlamydia is a rising health issue all over the world. The condition tends to have mild symptoms, if any, and may lead to infertility if left untreated. Chief executive of Accrington Stanley, Rob Heys explained, "The main stakeholders of the club are the supporters and the community so it is important we focus on giving back as much as we possibly can."

A youth academy in the area has also been recruited for involvement with this project and has been learning about the dangers and risks of unprotected sexual intercourse. Cory Jordan, who works as an outreach worker in sexual health for young men says,  "Working with the football club has had a tremendous effect so far because the audience it attracts are young men who may not access services as much as females."

Carlisle Clubbers

Meantime, clubbers in Carlisle were offered a chance to win £150. All they had to do was receive free confidential tests for Chlamydia offered by NHS Cumbria health care workers. The Best2know health teams were scheduled to offer the tests from 8 PM until 11 PM and would be stationed in various areas, such as inside pubs, and in the area known as the Walkabout.

Chlamydia has become the most common sexually transmitted infection and is believed to affect one in every ten youths between the ages of 15 and 24. Many never have symptoms, but the disease can still cause some nasty complications including pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), an increased risk for miscarriage, male and female infertility, and arthritis in men.

Deputy Director of public health in Cumbria, Dr. Rebecca Wagstaff says, "The aim of this event is to reach young people via other young people and reassure and encourage them to get tested on a regular basis. Chlamydia is an important health threat, yet it can be so easily diagnosed through regular testing and treatment is a simple course of antibiotics."