THE rate of chlamydia infections diagnosed in young people in Surrey is the lowest in the south-east, new figures have revealed.

A report by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) showed that fewer people aged 15 to 24 in the county were diagnosed with the infection than anywhere else in the NHS South East Coast area.

In Surrey, 1,282 people per 100,000 population aged 15 to 24 were diagnosed with chlamydia in 2009.

But the county appears to be bucking the trend, as 15-24-year-olds continue to be the group most affected by sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the south-east.

A total of 28,994 new STI diagnoses were reported in 2009, a 53 per cent increase since 2000.

Diagnoses of chlamydia, genital warts, genital herpes and syphilis have all risen in the south-east over the past 10 years.

Dr Angela Iversen, director of the Surrey and Sussex Health Protection Unit, said: "These latest figures show that poor sexual health continues to be a serious problem among the UK's young adults, including those in the south-east.

"Many studies have shown that young adults are more likely to have unsafe sex and often they lack the skills and confidence to negotiate safer sex.

"Reinfection is also a worrying issue – the numbers we're seeing in teenagers are of particular concern."

She said that the figures only related to diagnosed cases and, as chlamydia often has no symptoms, the actual number of people infected is probably higher.

"I would still encourage young people to take advantage of our screening programme," she added.

For more information visit www.gocheckyourself.com or www.surreysexualhealth.nhs.uk