DOVER district has the highest rate of positive chlamydia screenings across south and east Kent, according to data from the Eastern and Coastal Kent Primary Care Trust.

Information used by the trust in a health map report for the district shows that Dover and Thanet saw 7.2 per cent of patients screened between April 2009 and March 2010 prove positive for the infection. For Dover this was 121 people, compared to 90 in 2006.

The figure is above the national average of 6 per cent and compares to 4 per cent for Canterbury and 5.4 per cent for Ashford.

The genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinic at Dover Health Centre, which records the positive screenings, has seen a rise in the infection rates since 2006, when 90 people were diagnosed, and 2007, when it was up again to 97. Typically Dover's GUM centre will see 25 people a week.

The latest rise to 121 is partly due to more people getting themselves checked out, says the PCT.

Gerald Bassett, NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent's lead commissioner for sexual health, said: "Chlamydia infection is something we take extremely seriously, and we have introduced a wide range of initiatives over the last few years to combat the disease.

"We have written to every 18 to 24-year-old in Dover inviting them to take a test, which may account for the higher number of positive tests in Dover. However, in percentage terms, the number of young people testing positive for chlamydia has halved over the last five years, which is good news."

Chlamydia, passed on through unprotected sex, can cause infertility and inflammation in both men and women, and ectopic pregnancies in women.

A separate report for the PCT by consultancy agency Options UK reveals the east and south Kent area has seen a 130 per cent rise in the number of males who tested positive for chlamydia between 2003 and 2007, with the number diagnosed each year rising from 23 to 53. Rates for women stayed constant during that period, at about 52 per year.

It is estimated that one in eight Kent youngsters aged between 15 and 25 carries the virus, which is generally passed on through unprotected sex.

Chlamydia is the most commonly-diagnosed sexually transmitted disease in the country. Options UK estimates that the rising trend could see 7,874 new diagnoses across the PCT area of Dover district, Thanet, Canterbury, Ashford, Shepway and Swale by 2012.

To stem the rise in the sexually transmitted infection the PCT has introduced a range of programmes.

Mr Bassett said: "We have offered incentives to local GPs and pharmacists to offer on-the-spot tests to young people who walk through the door.

"In addition, we have funded a number of chlamydia nurses to attend the highly acclaimed 'House' project, which gives young people in Dover and across Kent the opportunity to access information, support and advice on a wide range of health issues."

People can also carry out their own screening test at home. A free kit can be ordered by people texting their name and address to 07747 898128 or calling 01303 228898 (leave a message out of hours).

Alternatively they can send their name and address on a postcard to Freepost I WANT A TEST, e-mail iwantatest@nhs.net or go to www.iwantatest.nhs.uk

Mr Bassett said: "We have made excellent progress in screening over 20,000 young people across east Kent but for the screening programme to be effective we need to test a lot more in. We would urge every young person who is offered the test to take it."