Can I say, as a doctor, that a positive HIV status isnt an inevitable path to death? As awful as it is, it is contained by change of lifestyle, diet etc in conjunction with prescribed antiretrovirals. Chlamydia however is a worrying disease that has the ability (and history) of mutation and that is rather worrying.

Chlamydia is bacterial, whereas HIV is viral, but I can understand people who dont understand medicine getting them confused. Hell, some GPs give antibiotics for colds, so no problem Mr Hertford getting confused.

However, chlamydia has symptoms that vary in degree and strain. It is the evolving strains that make this very common STD extremely worrying. in any case, the symptoms are more prevalent in men than women, and about half of men and a third of women will have painful urination, smelly discharge and for women, menstruation issues.

The symptoms can be treated with antibiotics for now, although some of the long term effects include risk of infertility, especially for the 30% of women suscepticle to it. It can also lead to painful pelvic inflammation, whch is an organic chronic disease.

Musket is right about the risks and added to which, over a quarter of a million people screen postitive each year. For those of us in medicine, the risks versus the ease of early cure make this a top priority, especially with the hard to reach under 25s. About 70% of those infected are under 25 in England.

I have to admit I work in the region the person behind Musket spends most of his time in, and enjoy his lectures on health improvement, including one later this week. It was only over coffee and speaking of music with him a few weeks ago that I made the link. He is passionate about equality and this comes over in his real life too. It is difficult to remember sometimes that he has not spent his life in healthcare and his outsider perspective is useful. I think, and I hope he wont mind me saying, he sees the attempts by political and religious interests to portray viral STDs as being a gay issue and he rightly points out the error they make. However, in doing so, it can occasionally come over as playing down the risks to all people who indulge in anal sex, and I doubt that is his intention. Some people on these threads are quick to see that, and I know that isnt his intention. He is one of the good profs.