It’s hard to spell, but it’s easy to catch.
The Grey-Bruce Health Unit is targeting chlamydia in it’s latest campaign.
Public Health Nurse Krista Witzke says over the past five years, the number of chlamydia cases in Grey-Bruce has doubled, and about 40 new cases crop up each year.
She says it’s the same trend seen nationally and provincially, but they wanted to create a local campaign to target the issue at home.
Witzke says it’s important to use proper protection if you are sexually active and to get tested regularly.
She says symptoms of chlamydia aren’t always present, which can make people think they don’t need to be tested.
She says up to about half of men have no symptoms, and even less women would notice if they had any.
Witzke says chlamydia is easily treatable with an antibiotic, but if left untreated, it can cause fertility issues in both women and men.
She encourages everyone to get regular tests and checkups either with their family doctor, or by calling the sexual health clinic at the Grey-Bruce Health Unit.
