Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Reuters NewMedia - November 24, 2004
Friedel Rother
Campaigners said that in addition to more investment in sexual health clinics, more education in schools was vital to reducing infection rates as the world prepares to mark World Aids Day on December 1.
There are 53,000 adults living with HIV, the virus which causes AIDS, in Britain according to the Health Protection Agency (HPA), which monitors infectious diseases.
Nearly 60 percent of the new cases were in the heterosexual population, with the second largest group being gay and bisexual men who accounted for one-quarter of all new infections.
Syphilis cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland surged by more than 1,000 percent from 1995 to 2003, while chlamydia rose 192 percent.
"Prevention messages are not getting through. We need to act now on sexual health - and make it a priority," Health Secretary John Reid said in a statement. About 50 million pounds of the promised spending will go on an advertising campaign.
But although sexual diseases are increasing, fewer than a third of patients can get an appointment at genitourinary medicine clinics (GUM) within 48 hours, according to the HPA.
"If people are to receive early diagnosis and treatment these waiting times need to be reduced," said Professor Pat Troop, chief executive of the HPA, in a statement.
The government has pledged in a White Paper that waiting times will be reduced to two days by 2008. But action groups said more education was vital.
"At present, the minimum requirement is that the biological facts are taught. There needs to be a much broader program across all schools which provides the skills and knowledge needed to negotiate relationships in the real world," said Anne Weyman, chief executive of the Family Planning Association.
(additional reporting by Mike Peacock)
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