Boy, aged ELEVEN, treated for chlamydia as 1,000 under-16s seek help for sexual diseases

By Jessica Satherley
Last updated at 1:08 PM on 29th August 2011

A boy of 11 has been treated in hospital after contracting a sexual disease, a shocking survey has found.
He is the youngest among a group of children under 16 who have been treated for sexually transmitted infections in UK hospitals.

The figures have revealed that almost 1,000 under-16s have been diagnosed with venereal diseases such as herpes, chlamydia and gonorrhoea in the past three years.

The number of youngsters seeking treatment was revealed by a freedom of information request, that also listed two 12-year-old boys among those infected.
Importance of sex education: Two young girls learn about contraception at a sexual health clinic (library image)
Importance of sex education: Two young girls learn about contraception at a sexual health clinic (library image)
They were treated for genital warts and herpes by Chelsea and Westminster Foundation Trust, while the 11-year-old was treated for chlamydia.

A 12-year-old girl was also treated for herpes between 2009 and 2010, according to the information published by the Mid Essex Foundation Trust.

Although some trusts did not release their information, those that did revealed unsurprisingly that the older the patients got, the more problems they had.
 

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Since 2008, there have been 44 girls and two boys aged 13 who have received treatment for STIs, the Daily Mirror reported.
Of those aged 14, there have been 200 youngsters treated for infections and 602 aged 15 attended clinics with sexual health problems.

Almost three times as many girls were treated than boys and chlamydia was found to be the most common infection.

The Family Planning Agency told the newspaper: ‘Investment in sexual health services pays off and spending on sexual health services should be sustained.'

They also said the findings highlighted the importance of parents and schools to promote safe sex.

Meanwhile, it was reported earlier this month that more than one in three Britons has unprotected sex with a new partner while on holiday.

And the poll revealed that people in their 50s are the age group least likely to use contraception with a new partner – putting them at the highest risk of contracting an STI.

Around 16 per cent of those in their 50s polled didn’t practise safe sex, compared with just four per cent of holidaymakers in the 26 to 30 age group and six per cent aged between 22 to 25.

The survey, by The Co-operative Pharmacy, who polled 3,000 people, cited alcohol and poor availability of condoms as the main reasons people did not use protection.