Young People in Oz Being Paid $10 for Chlamydia Test

Australian youngsters are being paid $10 to undergo testing for sexually transmitted disease known as Chlamydia with health officials in the country struggling to keep its rise under control. People between ages of 16 to 30 years living in the Australian Capital Territory are being encouraged to test for the infection with researchers looking at new ways to curb the rise of the disease with over 63,000 cases registered in 2009. Apart from the patients being given $10, a similar amount will also be given to pharmacies who test for the disease.

The pilot program is expected to test around 400 young people at a cost of around $6000 and Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute’s Dr Rhian Parker said that it could be expanded globally if it proves to be a success in ACT.

“What we are trying to do is raise awareness, provide access to young people to testing but also to show that chlamydia is something that anyone can get that is sexually active”, Dr Parker added.


Source-Medindia