HC Deb 08 September 2003 vol 410 cc172-3W
Tim Loughton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department is undertaking into the links between HIV and AIDS awareness campaigns and education and the incidence of chlamydia in young people. [127545]

Miss Melanie Johnson

The Department of Health contributes £1 million annually to support a national programme of Sexual Health and HIV research which informs our work to prevent the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The current programme does not include specific research into links between HIV and AIDS awareness and the incidence of chlamydia, although we do know that the widespread HIV prevention campaigns of the 1980s did lead to a reduction in the prevalence of many other STIs. Our regular surveys which measure the impact of the Teenage Pregnancy campaign, also provide data on the awareness of STIs among young people. This shows that awareness of HIV is high among this group and that awareness of chlamydia is increasing, possibly as a result of increased publicity on the subject, such as the Government's 'Sex lottery' campaign.

Tim Loughton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women were tested for(a) chlamydia and (b) HIV in each of the last five years. [127543]

Miss Melanie Johnson

The Department of Health does not hold central data on the total number of men and women who have undergone testing for chlamydia. We do, however, hold data on those who have tested and received a positive result.

Year Male Female
1998 18,937 24,975
1999 21,808 29,196
2000 26,632 34,815
2001 29,602 38,644
2002 34,341 43,796

Source:

Health Protection Agency

Estimates for the number of men and women tested for chlamydia through GUM Clinics, General Practitioners or Antenatal Care Providers in England between 1997 and 2002 are shown in the table. Note that data on antenatal testing of women are available only from 2000.

Year Male Female
19971 75,113 60,020
19981 79,665 63,998
19991 81,842 65,614
20002 93,262 345,083
20012 122,178 473,321
2002 161,911 544,466

In addition, all blood donations are screened for HIV and in the table below are the estimates of the numbers of the donations screened for both men and women.

Year Total
1997 3,040,022
1998 2,864,483
1999 2,922,045
2000 2,903,565
2001 2,849,740
2002 2,844,465

Notes:

1 Data from Genitourinary clinics and general practitioners only.

2 Includes preliminary unpublished data from the "National Survey of HIV in Pregnancy and Childhood", source: Institute of Child Health.

Source:

In calculating these estimates, data from the following surveys were used: denominator survey (CDSC) to provide GP testing estimates, KC60 (CDSC) to provide GUM testing estimates, National survey of HIV in Pregnancy and Childhood (ICH) to provide Antenatal testing estimates.

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