STDs become part of plot on TV soap for UK teens
================================================

* Mary Helen Spooner

Writers of a soap opera aimed at 16-to-24-year-old Britons have made venereal disease part of the show's plot. This unusual departure from normal teen-soap fare comes amidst rising concern among British physicians over escalating rates of sexually transmitted disease (STD). The number of infections reported jumped by almost 300 000 between 1995 and 2000, according to the British Medical Association (BMA). Gonorrhea infection rates rose by 31% in men and 26% in women from 1999 to 2000.

![Figure1](http://www.cmaj.ca/https://www.cmaj.ca/content/cmaj/166/9/1195.2/F1.medium.gif)

[Figure1](http://www.cmaj.ca/content/166/9/1195.2/F1)

Figure. 

Health authorities are also reporting an increase in cases of syphilis, with outbreaks in north London, Brighton and Manchester within the past year. Manchester's genitourinary clinics saw at least 160 people with syphilis last year, compared with 1 or 2 in previous years.

The BMA responded with a plea for more genitourinary medical facilities that are open longer hours. Its report also stated that a lack of high-profile public health campaigns has contributed to the increase in STD rates. During the late 1980s the number of infections declined after an awareness campaign that warned: “Don't die of ignorance.”

There has been no follow-up program, so the BMA responded by asking broadcasters to present a more realistic portrayal of sex and its potential implications. Thus, the Apr. 15 episode of Hollyoaks, a half-hour teen soap broadcast 4 times weekly, depicted a young student experiencing what she thought were flu-like symptoms. She then learned she had gonorrhea. A spokesperson for the show said that with the rate of STDs increasing, “this storyline is all the more relevant and vital.” The program attracts 5 million viewers per week.

The BMA also called for a survey of TV programs with sexual content to determine how frequently family-planning issues and STD risks are being raised.

Some MDs say a more effective strategy would be to coordinate teaching efforts with the education ministry. Public Health Minister Yvette Cooper indicated that a publicity campaign aimed at this age group will begin this autumn, and will employ some of the strategies used in a teenage pregnancy prevention program. Following that program's launch in 1999, pregnancies fell by 7% among British girls under age 16.