London’s chlamydia hotspots have been revealed amid calls for increased testing

London’s chlamydia hotspots for young people have been revealed as health experts call for the capital to increase testing capacity.

Lambeth had the highest rate of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), with a detection rate of 3,063 cases per 100,000 people aged 18 to 24 – equivalent to around 3% of residents in the age group .

Detection rates measure the proportion of the population that tests positive over a 12-month period.

Lewisham was second with 2,873 cases per 100,000, while Hackney was third with 2,857.

And Southwark and Enfield came fourth and fifth with 2,564 and 2,349 cases per 100,000 respectively.

More than half (51 percent) of all STI diagnoses were chlamydia in 2021, according to the UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA). If left untreated, it can cause infertility in women.

However, chlamydia levels nationally fell by 5% compared to the previous year – while tests rose by 4%.

The number of sexual health tests also increased by 18.7% compared to last year, but decreased by 13.2% compared to 2019.

On Tuesday, the UKHSA sounded the alarm about a “marked” increase in syphilis infections in 2021, with cases up 8.4% on the previous year. Infections increased by 6.1% among people aged 15 to 24.

The bacterial infection, which is spread through sexual intercourse with an infected person, can spread to the brain or other parts of the body if left untreated and cause serious health problems.

Lambeth had the highest rate of syphilis in London, with 145.7 cases per 100,000, according to UKHSA figures. This was followed by Southwark (100.9) and Westminster (93.4).

Sutton had the lowest number of diagnoses in the capital, with 7.2 cases per 100,000.

Ian Green, chief executive at the Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “Today’s statistics show that STI and HIV testing rates are still lagging behind the pre-Covid levels seen in 2019. This comes at a time when capacity the already very limited sexual health services are being swallowed up by the leadership of the country’s monkeypox response, which replaces HIV and STI testing.

“The government must act urgently to ensure adequate resources for the monkeypox response and to mitigate the impact on wider sexual health services to avoid an increase in STIs, unwanted pregnancies and people contracting HIV.”

“This includes a clear commitment to prioritize the nation’s sexual health and to scale up HIV testing to achieve the life-changing goal of ending new HIV cases by 2030.”