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In an attempt to encourage people to get a chlamydia test, a new ‘sex calculator’ has been launched that has helps people work out the total number of indirect sexual partners they have had over their lifetime.

According to the average number of sexual partners Britains have – 9 for men and 6.3 for women, producing an overall average of 7.65 – sexually active adults have apparently had indirect sexual contact with over 2.8 million people.

The researchers claim that due to unprotected sex, people are potentially coming into contact with sexually transmitted infections carried by hundreds of thousands of other people. The developers, Lloyd’s Pharmacy, say they hope that when people realise how easy it is to catch a sexually transmitted disease, they will be encouraged to get an STD test or go for a chlamydia test.

According to figures released by the Health Protection Agency, there was a rise last year in the number of people infected with a sexually transmitted disease, bringing the total up to 399,738. There was an 8% increase in the number of people carrying chlamydia.

However it is likely that the real figures are far higher, as many STIs do not present symptoms meaning that people are less likely to go for an STD test.

It has been estimated that 1 in 10 under-25s carry the chlamydia virus, but only a very small percentage of that age group go for chlamydia screening or get a regular STD test. Doctors recommend that anyone who is sexually active and has multiple partners should get an STD test as least once a year.

The government’s Chlamydia Screening Program recommends that Primary Health Care Trusts should be aiming to get 15% of the age group but many are falling far short of the target. Officials say there are a variety of reasons for the low chlamydia test rates, with embarrassment and ignorance key problems health chiefs need to tackle.

The calculator has been nicknamed ‘Sex Degrees of Separation’ and works by basing the calculations on data gathered from 6,000 British adults. The user enters the number of sexual partners they have had so far and the age of each partner and the calculator works out the average number of partners for each age range. The results are then multiplied for further five ‘generations’ of partner.

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