A day after releasing new figures showing sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) on the rise among young people in the province, Alberta announced it is launching $2 million-campaign to fight the problem.
The new ads will encourage people to use condoms when having sex and to get regularly tested for STDs, Alberta Health spokesman John Tuckwell said Tuesday.
"It is being taken seriously because people think of chlamydia and gonorrhea as not particularly serious infections," said Tuckwell.
"The problem is that you stand a very good chance, with any sexually transmitted infection, of a co-infection with things like HIV or hepatitis B."
Provincial figures released Monday showed a two-fold increase in some STDs among teens aged 15 to 19 between 2002 and 2007.
Dr. Gerry Predy, Edmonton's medical officer of health, agreed that the rise in sexually transmitted diseases among young people is a serious problem, calling it his biggest priority right now.
"We're very concerned about it, they've been going up. We have a number of things that we are doing to try to get the information out as many ways as possible. And I think for that age group parents do have a role to play in ensuring their sons and daughters are aware of the risk of this kind of infection."
Predy said he has also hired more staff to track down young people who might have been infected.
Experts suggest that an average high school in Alberta could have two dozen or more students with the diseases. They attribute the increasing problem to a growing number of young people participating in oral sex.
The province's new advertising campaign launches in the fall.
With files from Erik Denison
