TOP STORY: Sex disease rates soar for HB teens

Hawke's Bay teenagers are being urged to wear condoms as new reports reveal they are more sexually active and have a higher chance of contracting chlamydia than the rest of the country.
A recent study for the Hawke's Bay District Health Board found that up to 40 percent of 14 and 15 year olds in Hawke's Bay were sexually active.
That was almost double that of a Youth 2000 study of secondary school students nationwide that found 20 percent were having sex.
The sharp rise in teen sex rates comes at a time when chlamydia rates have gone through the roof both locally and nationally.
District Health Board sexual health promoter Shari Tidswell said today teenagers could pay a high price for not using condoms.
"The message to sexually active teens is simple, if you are going to have sex use a condom," Ms Tidswell said.
New Zealand's chlamydia rate is six times higher than Australia and four times that of the United Kingdom. The "silent infection" is particularly prevalent in 15-19 year olds.
When used correctly, condoms prevented the transmission of sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea and also reduced the risk of contracting herpes and wart virus infection, she said.
If left untreated, complications from chlamydia could include pelvic inflammatory disease, tubal scarring, infertility and ectopic pregnancy.
She acknowledged that getting the support of parents was vital in efforts to stop the infection rate increasing. Parents needed to talk to their children about safe sex, she said.
"Most parents would rather their sons and daughters waited until they were older before becoming sexually active.
However, many young people are having sex and need information that will help protect them from diseases."
The Ministry of Health was launching a campaign this month to encourage the use of condoms. Hawke's Bay GP Dr Marcia Sonneveld said education was the key to slowing the increase in infection rates.
"The statistics were not good and there was a clear link between the rise in STI's and the increase in sexually active teenagers," Dr Sonneveld said. The news comes the day after MPs voted against a law change to require doctors to tell parents or a judge when an under-age girl sought an abortion.
National MP Judith Collins' amendment to the Care of Children Bill was defeated 75-45 on a free vote. Ms Collins said the MPs had failed those girls and their parents.