Glastonbury music fans given free STD tests

Somerset’s local NHS service has been giving its residents free STD tests at the Glastonbury Festival. Any festival-goers who lived in the county were given the Chlamydia screening tests for free, while people from other areas were given information and advice about their local screening program.

Chlamydia is the most common and fastest growing sexually transmitted disease in the world, and with the Glastonbury Festival attracting over 200,000 people during the week, Somerset NHS used it to promote awareness about the infection.

Sarah Dove, the screening service manager for Somerset NHS said that the disease was particularly dangerous because: “Unfortunately the disease has no symptoms in 70 per cent of women and 50 per cent of men, so they may not even know they have it, and, if left untreated, Chlamydia can cause major infertility problems.”

Adding that, “We want to reach as many young people from Somerset as possible to inform them of the risks of Chlamydia.”

Young people between the ages of 15 and 24 were eligible for the test, which is free and totally confidential. People can also choose how they want to receive their results, either by text or email, by phone or through a letter.