Aug 2011.pub (read-only)

Bolton Sexual Health
If you or your organisation have any news or Local and National Support
information that you think would be relevant services
Network Newsletter
and would like to be included in our next issue 360 Young People Drug & Alcohol Service or on our website then please contact Natalie Alternatively, if you have any questions or re- quire any further information about any of the articles or information included in this issue, please also contact Natalie Rennie Email: natalie.rennie@bolton.gov.uk New dry blood spot HIV postal testing kits from R U Clear? Bolton joint top in Greater Manchester for chlamydia screening targets; achieving 27.5% Inside this issue:
A new report finds that Parents want support with Sex and Relationships education Bolton Centre for Sexual & Reproductive Health Phone this number and you will be offered an appointment with 48 hours at a selection of Bolton College Drop-in—nearly 12 months on sex and relationship
The Exit Team, Support for young people affected by sexual exploitation Since September 2010, NHS children and this is well docu- Bolton have been commission- mented. We believe that ac- ing a young people’s sexual cess to high quality, confiden- www.brook.org.uk, young people’s sexual health advice service health drop in four further edu- tial and young people friendly www.ruthinking.co.uk, young people’s sexual health advice cation campus’ across the bor- contraceptive services is a key www.talktofrank.com, advice and support on substance misuse www.youngminds.org.uk, young people’s mental health support Why? . . . . .This service was cess to services for termination When and Where?. . . . .
developed to improve sexual of pregnancy for young wom-  Monday 12-2 Bolton sixth
www.bpas.org.uk, pregnancy options advice and support health outcomes for young peo- en is also an important issue form college, Deane Road
www.fpa.org.uk, all types of advice, support and guidance on sexual health ple and reduce teenage pregnan- and whilst Government’s  T u e s d a y
1 1 . 4 5 - 1 . 1 5 Special Points of Interest
www.lgf.org.uk or 0845 3 30 30 30, support to LGB groups cy. NHS Bolton commissioners Teenage Pregnancy Strategy Horwich campus
felt this could be achieved (1999) has a primary focus on  Wednesday 11-3, Deane R o l l i n g C h l a my d i a S c r e e n i n g
through the delivery of a young preventing unintended teenage
Rd campus
Up and Coming Professional Training
 Friday 12-2.30 Farnworth once a month at the Town Hall in
clinic. We know from various parents and reducing second  Contraception & STIs - 20th Octo-
evidence base that young people conceptions. This years successes . . . . .
do not easily access mainstream Improved sexual health for  254 young people registered Health Training Programme, contact  R U Ready? - 9th & 10th October
particularly chlamydia. In  All males discussed with The following courses are scheduled available on request through Natalie Ren- Blackburn and offers opportuni- England, up to 1 in 10 young from August through to December. The nie for groups of 6 or more. ties for sexual health assessment people under 25 years is infect- in order to improve the sexual ed with chlamydia and other health and well being of young STI rates are continuing to  all Bolton employees FREE of charge
Assessing the Needs of LGBT
young people both in terms of agement of STIs to reduce the Service Users-6th September 09.30
and socialisation and wellbeing. sion and/or longer term com- Condom Promotion - 22nd Sep-
 41% of young people ac- information about these courses contact What does the service
‘Getting it Right’
Attitudes & Values - 6th October
provide? . . . . . . . . . . . .
health and social consequences  Condom promotion and R U Clear? HIV & Syphilis new dry blood spot testing
R U Clear are now offering a dry blood spot
Manchester
New Gonorrhoea strain resists drugs
testing for HIV and syphilis. R U clear claim tions: It may take up to 3 months for a
commissioning this service, but would like
Doctors have found a new ‘superbug’ form the test is of a high standard and if taken new infection to give a positive result. to make it clear that HIV testing, support,
of gonorrhoea’ that is resistant to a range of include pain or tenderness in the lower ab- from attendees respond to different antibiot- correctly is as accurate as any blood test advice and counselling continues to be
results will be received within 2 weeks of antibiotics, it has been announced. Several dominal area and bleeding between periods, taken in any clinic for HIV and syphilis. available in Bolton through your own GP
newspapers have reported on the first case  results can be sent by post, phone or text or for over 19’s by telephoning Bolton
of the strain, which was recently discovered have a discharge from the penis which may R U Clear state that with early diagnosis Centre for sexual and reproductive health
All contact will be totally confidential. be green, yellow or white in colour. They on 01204 390771. If you are under 19 you
No test is 100% accurate so rarely the test that the strain has resistance against a range may also have pain on passing urine, inflam- Currently, it is not known how best to treat control and the immune system may give a false result. can contact the Parallel on 01204 462444
of antibiotic drugs, including those com- mation of the foreskin or (in a small propor- this new strain, although The Independent healthy. People on HIV treatment can live a monly used to cure the sexually transmitted tion of cases) pain and tenderness of the reported that the Japanese case was cured long and healthy, active life. However if For more information please call 0800 046 after a second course of the same antibiotic. HIV is diagnosed late, treatment may be less It is possible that alternative combinations effective and therefore affect quality of life The strain, called H041, was investigated by of drugs and higher doses of current antibi- NHS Bolton in partnership with other
a Swedish research team lead by Dr Magnus otics may cure infections with the strain. Unemo from the Swedish Institute for Infec- Data in the conference abstract stated that tious Disease Control. Dr Unemo reportedly told the Daily Mirror that “the drug-resistant Parents Want Support with Sex and Relationship Education
was four to eight times more resistant to strain could spread around the world in 10 treat the condition as early as possible. ceftriaxone than other strains of this bacte- years”. Researchers are now trying to under- Gonorrhoea is treated with a single dose involve parents in SRE. The Sex Education stand why this strain is resistant to existing of antibiotics, based on the local report- Education Forum, part of leading children’s sex education are key limiting factors. In the treatments and how to stop it from spread- The researchers say that it is crucial to mon- charity the National Children’s Bureau, experience that schools are often afraid of the site of infection. Usually one of the itor the spread of antibiotic-resistant gonor- concludes that parents are very supportive of parental reactions but the key is to have an rhoea. Ultimately, new drugs will need to be Details of the new strain are being presented developed to treat it. As with all strains of sex and relationships education (SRE) – at a conference of the International Society gonorrhoea and STIs, prevention is better “Most parents gives the ‘birds and bees’ for Sexually Transmitted Disease Research. than cure, and it is important to take steps talk when they feel ready not when the child The evidence briefing ‘Parents and SRE’ Further research into H041 is sure to follow. such as using a condom when having sex in While UK strains can currently be treated, order to reduce the transmission of infec- is ready, which seems really weird and par- c a n b e a c c e s s e d f r o m h t t p : / / this news highlights the importance of prac- Children and young people themselves are ents get embarrassed and tend to give up!” tising safer sex, such as using condoms. clear that parents are an important source of S E F p a r e n t s e v i d e n c e b r i e f i n g . p d f While antibiotics currently provide an effec- These are taken either in pill form or by Does this mean I can’t be treated if I information about sex and relationships – tive treatment for gonorrhoea infections, There are also big gender differences in (NCB are aware of a problem with this file, yet the research shows that many parents family communications; with fathers less affecting users of Internet Explorer. If you underestimate just how much their children likely than mothers to talk to their children Dr David Livermore, director of the antibi- want to communicate with them. In fact, one about sex and relationships, and boys more either update your version of Adobe PDF otic resistance monitoring laboratory at the survey revealed that two-thirds of parents Reader or open the document using another said that the cephalosporin antibiotics used believed their teenagers have no desire to Gonorrhoea is a sexually transmitted infec- are still effective for treating gonorrhoea. Jane Lees, Chair of the Sex Education
tion (STI) caused by a bacteria called Neis- What is different about this new strain? seria gonorrhoeae. The bacteria can cause Forum said: ‘The majority of parents want
However, it is important to prevent this new In this accessible summary of literature, the Testing of the new H041 strain has revealed strain from Japan from spreading further. vagina. It can be passed on to others through briefing examines factors that enable or limit that it is resistant to ceftriaxone, one of the with school SRE. This need is not currently sexual contact and sharing sex toys (if not three preferred antibiotic treatments. Analy- partners is important to prevent the spread of being met – while there are some examples sis at the Swedish Reference library for all types of gonorrhoea. As the infection can children and finds that embarrassment, lack each time). The bacteria can also live in of good practice many schools are failing to Pathogenic Neisseria also found it to be be symptomless the only way to know if you other areas of the body, including inside the resistant to all other types of cephalosporins cells of the cervix, the urethra (the tube (a class of antibiotic that includes Cefix- ime), as well as the majority of 30 antimi- throat and, very occasionally, the eyes. Testing is straightforward for both men and Bolton’s Condom Promotion Scheme
crobials tested. The researchers were able to women: men are usually tested using a urine show that the new bacteria strain possessed Symptoms of gonorrhoea will usually show a new gene variant that enabled it to be re- The team are pleased to unveil Bolton’s new using a urine sample or using a swab from if anyone requires extra copies of anything, up within two weeks of infection, although the cervix. Testing can either be performed by a person’s GP or they can attend a sexual and new branding is now visible on all Bol- months after a person has become infected. There have been no reported cases of this health clinic, also known as a genito-urinary strength to strength which is a direct result GUM clinic, a person’s details will not be of participating agencies hard efforts and surveillance programme to detect cases of passed on to their GP unless they request it. commitment to improving young people’s antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea should they Council, St Helen’s Road depot for all their access to free contraception, support and This information has been provided by NHS gramme regularly examines samples from a THANKYOU from Bolton’s sexual health
from the vagina that may be green or yellow received their newly branded materials, but Bolton Sexual Health Network Newsletter

Source: http://www.sexualhealthbolton.co.uk/assets/documents/Aug%202011.pdf