Hundreds of teens get sex infections

Teenagers across Rotorua and Taupo are picking up more sexually transmitted infections than any other age group.

In the first six months of 2011 more than 300 teenagers from the two districts were treated for chlamydia with 23 of these aged 14 or under.

The Lakes District Health Board region tops the charts across the New Zealand for the infection, which can lead to infertility if left untreated.

Figures on the Public Health Surveillance website reveal how many people are treated for chlamydia and another sexually transmitted infection, gonorrhoea, for each quarter.

From April to June 2011 there were 315 cases of chlamydia recorded by Laboratory Services Rotorua and Taupo Southern Community Laboratory.

These cases related to eight people aged from 10 to 14 and 142 aged 15-19. There were 102 cases in people aged 20-24, 37 in the 25-29 age group, 16 from 30-34, 7 from 35-39 and three in people aged 40 plus.

In the year to June 2011 there was a total of 1250 cases, an increase on the 1197 in the previous 12 months.

But the idea Rotorua residents are promiscuous and have poor sexual health is disputed by a doctor who has treated patients for infections. Dr Tania Pinfold works from the Rotovegas Youth Centre, which is one of the designated sexual health clinics in the city.

"It might mean we're the best at finding infections," she said.

"It doesn't mean we have a higher prevalence, we could be better at screening large populations."

It can take two weeks for infections to show up after you have been exposed to a sexually transmitted infection.

The gonorrhoea statistics are not broken down into region each quarter but for 2010 there were 71 cases, which was slightly above the national average.

In 2010 there were five cases of genital herpes recorded in the Lakes region and 33 of genital warts.

Four people were treated for syphilis, which can be deadly if left untreated.