Thousands of young Londoners are unknowingly carrying a sexually transmitted disease that puts them and their partners at risk of infertility, a doctor warned today.
Dr Sebastian Kalwij, a GP who has championed screening in Lambeth and Southwark, said that only the “tip of the iceberg” had emerged in figures showing 111,451 new infections across the capital.
The boroughs had the highest rates for gonorrhoea and chlamydia, with almost 10,000 new cases.
But Dr Kalwij told the Standard: “I imagine in Hackney and other similar parts of London, it must be the same as here.”
Dr Kalwij’s efforts have seen screening by GPs in Lambeth and Southwark increase from 28 chlamydia tests in 2003/4 to 8,484 in 2012/13. He said many men feared having a test because they wrongly thought it was a painful process.
All that is required for chlamydia and gonorrhoea is a urine sample for a man and a self-administered swab for a woman. While the symptoms of gonorrhoea can include pain in passing urine and a discharge, chlamydia — the most common — has very few symptoms.
“In women it affects the fallopian tubes and ongoing infection can cause adhesions and blockage of the tubes,” he said. “There is also a very good chance it’s damaging the sperm cells. The longer the infection stays with you, the more damage.”
The 16-25 age group is most at risk, with public health doctors also concerned at the prevalence among gay men.
Dr Kalwij has set up a website to share advice: ichlamydia.com
