New figures show proportionately more north Essex women have contracted the sexually-transmitted disease chlamydia than elsewhere in the UK.

The chlamydia rate is far higher in this area than the national average - 130 per 100,000, compared with about 100 per 100,000 nationwide.

Now women in the county have been warned to get tested before it's too late and they become infertile.

The warning follows the publication of figures which show cases of sexually transmitted diseases in the UK has reached a ten-year high.

Rates of chlamydia and gonorrhoea in particular have risen dramatically in the past five years, according to statistics from the Public Health Laboratory Service.

In Essex, cases of gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis are high compared with the national average - but unlike the national trend, the numbers have remained steady.

Dr Sally Millership, of North Essex Health Authority, said chlamydia cases were high when figures started being kept in 1997.

She warned: "People may not know they have it until they get pelvic inflammation disease and go infertile. There is a big problem among females aged under 25.

"We are now treating more HIV cases, though I don't think we've had much of an increase. The genito-uterinary medicine team has been promoting testing with local GPs and more doctors are taking samples."

Professor Michael Adler, an adviser to the Government on sexual health matters, said it appeared the message about the risks associated with sex was not getting through to young people.

"I think that is a challenge for the Government and that is exactly why they are pulling together a national sexual health and HIV strategy. This is going to be a holistic strategy which is going to look at the health promotion, information needs and the services people need.

"There's no doubt we have a public health problem in relation to sexually-transmitted infections and last year we saw the largest number of new HIV infections we have ever seen."

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