Huge rise in underage girls with sex disease

Figures show some primary care trusts in the capital diagnosed more than 20 times as many cases among underage girls last year than in 2003/4.

The biggest increase was in Lewisham, where the number of cases rose from 46 in 2003/4 to 332 in 2006/7. Lambeth, Southwark and Islington also saw steep rises and only a handful of boroughs stayed level.

Today, experts attributed the rise in the sexually transmitted disease, which can lead to infertility, to a lack of warnings about the dangers of underage sex.

Trevor Stammers, a GP and lecturer in healthcare ethics, said the Government needed to rethink its policy, which focused on contraception.

He said: "These figures are astounding and show we need to focus more on discouraging young teenagers from having intercourse too early. Not only is underage sex illegal, it is unhealthy and dangerous. The Government is not discouraging children from making their sexual debut and the areas where the disease is most prevalent are where there is the most deprivation.

"There is also a lot of evidence to show that even if condoms are used all the time the disease can still be transmitted. We need to focus on better sexual education that involves parents, not just the school nurse."

The Department of Health figures came in response to a Commons question-tabled by Tory MP Shailash Vara. He said: "These figures are deeply worrying. More needs to be done to make people aware of the dangerous consequences of contracting sexually transmitted infections."

Chlamydia is the most commonly diagnosed STD and it is estimated up to one in 10 sexually active young people has the disease, although there are often no obvious symptoms.

The DoH said the increases could be due to the introduction of more accessible screening programmes.