Here's an overview of progress taken from the fifth Annual Report of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (2007/2008).
National Chlamydia Screening Programme: A snapshot five years on ...
First some background
In 2000, the Department of Health published a pilot study of opportunistic screening for C trachomatis infection for England, conducted in Portsmouth and the Wirral (1999-2000). This confirmed the high disease positivity among those attending health care settings, and the feasibility and acceptability of an opportunistic screening approach.
In 2001, the Government published the National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV, with a commitment to begin a programme of screening for chlamydia for targeted groups in 2002.
2003
In the first year of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP), 41 PCTs (27 per cent) came on board, with 50 per cent of patients and partners managed in settings outside genito-urinary medicine (GUM).
2005
The DH allocated £80 million for chlamydia screening in Choosing health (Monies 2006/2007 and 2007/2008).
The DH launched the Pharmacy Chlamydia Screening Pathfinder.
2007
By April 2007, there were 89 PCTs screening for chlamydia.
The DH set a Local Delivery Plan (LDP) target of 15 per cent of young people between 15 and 24 years being screened through the NCSP.
2008
All 152 PCTs in England are now reporting data to the NCSP - 11,377 screening venue sites registered. There are 24 different types of venue. The top screeners include community contraceptive services, young persons services, general practice and educational settings. Evidence is growing for the role of pharmacies in chlamydia screening.
Distribution of infection
Among young people screened outside GUM during 2007/2008, one in 14 young men (7.5 per cent) and one in 11 young women (9.2 per cent) were positive.
Over the past five years positivity among men has decreased each year while among women it has fluctuated around 10 per cent, dropping to 9.2 per cent this year. A decrease was anticipated as screening volumes increased and more people at lower risk were tested.
Differences in positivity between venue types during 2007/2008 were observed. Young people tested by community contraceptive services (10.4 per cent), using postal kits (10.3 per cent) and in youth settings (10.3 per cent) reported the highest positivity, while those tested in educational settings were much lower (4.3 per cent).