Sex and Relationships

Chlamydia could rob men of fatherhood

Chlamydia One in ten young men has a sexually transmitted disease which could rob him of his chances of fatherhood, doctors have revealed.

Chlamydia, which often has no known symptoms whatsoever, was originally thought to be only a threat to female fertility.

A study suggests that the disease could reduce both the amount and the quality of the sperm by damaging its DNA therefore reducing its ability to reach and fertilise the female egg.

However, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine's annual conference in Washington DC was told that this be corrected with a four month course of antibiotics.

Whereas 150,000 under-25s a year in colleges and universities are screened for

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Chlamydia, it is believed that British fertility clinics are not testing enough young couples as they should be.

It is important that those who are in a relationship but not yet parents are tested and treated for the disease warns Dr Allan Pacey, a secretary of the British Fertility Society.

The latest figures of the bug show that under-25s account for two thirds of the cases. One in ten men and women in that age bracket within the UK are infected by the disease.