1:42pm Wednesday 25th August 2010
By Steven Impey
A DISPROPORTIONATE number of people in Waltham Forest have a sexually transmitted infection (STI), a nationwide health report has revealed.
New figures released by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) show that one per cent of the population in Waltham Forest were diagnosed with a STI in 2009.
In the study, which reaches across 152 regions in the country, Waltham Forest came out in the top 17 per cent for the number of people diagnosed with a STI.
Results show that in London boroughs of Enfield and Redbridge, the number of people with a STI is almost half the figure for Waltham Forest.
Bexley has the least number of cases in London, while the London borough of City & Hackney has twice as many people diagnosed with an STI than Waltham Forest – the highest in England.
Since 2008, a steady increase in the number of people diagnosed with gonorrhoea, genital herpes, or chlamydia was discovered right across the board.
The report also suggests that people living in deprived urban areas are more likely to be diagnosed with a STI, although other factors such as the number of people having check-ups are also taken into consideration.
Dr Helen Maguire, an expert in STI trends for the HPA, said: “These latest figures reveal STIs to be a major and ongoing health issue in London.
"STI rates do tend to be higher in regions with large and deprived urban centres.
“These figures clearly show that people are more likely to be diagnosed with STIs if they live in an inner city area of London, as a higher proportion of people who are most at risk tend to live in these areas.
“Part of these increases could be due to more frequent and more sensitive testing, as well as better reporting.
"However, there is a consistently high number of infections being diagnosed, which indicates that Londoners are still taking part in unsafe sexual activity."
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