Bluetooth van used to promote chlamydia tests

In order to curb the spread of the sexually transmitted infection in the Great Yarmouth and Waveney area, a special "Bluetooth van" will be sending messages to young people encouraging them to have a chlamydia test. Bluetooth technology allows mobile phone messages to be sent to people in the nearby area.

Letters will also be sent to 18- to 24-year-olds inviting them to take the free chlamydia test.

Allison Chaplin, commissioning manager for sexual health at NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney, said: "The van will be travelling the streets and sending messages out to mobile phones through Bluetooth in the hope we reach as many people as possible."

The Great Yarmouth area has a particularly high rate for chlamydia, so health bosses at NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney are keen to increase the number of males and females screened as part of their Are You Getting It? campaign.

Chlamydia is often undetected because of a lack of symptoms associated with the infection. It can lead to a condition known as pelvic inflammatory disease, which can cause infertility in women.

Young people under 25 are most likely to be infected, with 65 per cent (80,258) of all new chlamydia diagnoses made in 2008 being for people between the ages of 16 and 24.