The increase is greatest among young girls aged 15 to 19, and last year around 190 were found to be infected among teenage girls, but the increase is also seen in women and men between 20 and 24 years of age.
- How many people get chlamydia goes up and down over time, but we see that more were infected in 2022 compared to the year before.
Last year, approximately 900 Norrbotten residents got chlamydia, says Maya Bergström Wuolo, public health strategist at Region Norrbotten.
- The increase is also greater in Norrbotten than Sweden as a whole, states Anders Nystedt.
Young people in sparsely populated areas
Region Norrbotten now wants to inform teenagers that anyone who has turned 15 or older can order a sampling kit for chlamydia
(there are two ways to get tested and how to do it is in the fact box below)
.
- It should feel easy to talk about sexual health, but some people find it difficult and prefer to take care of the testing themselves.
In addition, the testing becomes more accessible to people in sparsely populated areas who have a long way to the nearest reception, says Maya Bergström Wuolo.
She continues:
- When you get tested at the clinic, we can talk about sexual health, the patient can ask questions and bring some condoms if necessary.
You miss that with self-sampling, but the most important thing is that the test is actually done.