Chlamydia cases on the rise

A total of 1,651 people were tested for chlamydia in 2017, with 261 of the tests being positive, according to a Chief Medical Officer report for 2017.

This is the highest number of positive tests since 2000 and also the highest number of tests carried out since then.

In comparison, 1,354 people were tested in 2016, out of which 156 tested positive.

This means that in 2017 there were 105 more positive chlamydia tests than in the previous year.

2009 saw the second-highest incidence of chlamydia diagnoses since, with 220 positive tests out of a total of 1,556. This prompted the Chief Medical Officer of the Faroe Islands to issue a press release informing the public about the treatment and prevention of the disease.

Chief Medical Officer Lars Fodgaard Møller is planning another chlamydia information campaign this year.

“It is worrying to see an increase in chlamydia cases, so the time is right to inform the public again about treatment and prevention,” he says. Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease that can infect both men and women. Women can get chlamydia in the cervix, rectum or throat. Men can get chlamydia in the urethra (inside the penis), rectum or throat.

Chlamydia is transmitted during oral, vaginal, or anal sex with someone who has the infection. A woman can also pass chlamydia to her baby during childbirth.

A chlamydia patient who has been treated in the past can be re-infected if he or she has unprotected sex with someone who has it.

Chlamydia is more common in young people, especially young women.

Translated by prosa.fo