Chlamydia Cure was once again the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) as Rushmoor was revealed to have the highest rate of infections across the Hampshire-Surrey border.

The data from Public Health England showed that the STI rate per 100,000 people in Rushmoor was 796 – marginally higher than in the borough of Guildford where the rate was 794 per 100,000 people.

This compared with a Hampshire average of 583 STIs in every 100,000 people and 545 in Surrey.

Last year, 751 acute STIs were diagnosed in Rushmoor, with 330 of these being chlamydia - a common bacterial infection that often has no symptoms in women but can cause blindness.

This means there were 20 more new chlamydia cases than in 2011.

Cases of the infection fell by 6% to 184 in Hart, by 15% to 293 in Guildford, by 30% to 153 in Surrey Heath and by 13% to 160 in Waverley.

The overall number of all STIs diagnosed in these areas was 524 in Hart, 1,093 in Guildford, 504 in Surrey Heath and 556 in Waverley.

Syphilis cases increased most dramatically in Hart, from zero in 2011 to three in 2012, and in Guildford, where there were seven diagnoses last year compared to four in 2011 and one the year before.

Despite this it remained by far the least common infection in the data.

Cases of gonorrhoea and herpes were more frequent in 2012 than at any point in the past four years in Guildford, Surrey Heath and Waverley, but cases fell in Hart.

Rushmoor was the only borough where diagnoses of genital warts increased – rising from 160 to 169.

The increases in some STIs has prompted a warning from Hampshire County Council to people to take more care with their sexual health.

Councillor Liz Fairhurst, executive lead member for health and wellbeing, said: “Left untreated, sexually transmitted infections can lead to a range of complications including ectopic pregnancy, infertility, disability, cancer and premature death.

"As part of our new public health responsibilities, Hampshire County Council already commissions a range of programmes and services delivered in a variety of community settings that support people to develop and maintain good sexual health.

"Getting screened for HIV and STIs can lead to early diagnosis and treatment, as often these infections have no symptoms.

"In addition, reducing the number of sexual partners and avoiding overlapping sexual relationships can reduce the risk of being infected with an STI."

The Public Health England figures also showed that those aged between 15 and 24 were most at risk from chlamydia.

There were 226 diagnoses in this age group last year in Rushmoor – lower than the 248 in 2011 – whereas there were 103 cases in those older than 25 last year.

std symptoms can cause DNA damage that may increase the risk of later developing cancer, a new study suggests.

In the study, human cells growing in lab dishes that were infected with chlamydia were more likely to have DNA damage compared to cells not infected with chlamydia. What's more, this DNA damage was not always repaired properly by the cell, increasing the chances of genetic mutations.

Normally, cells with such DNA damage would activate a process that kills the cells, so that the cell does not turn cancerous. But in the study, the cells with DNA damage overrode this mechanism, and continued to divide. The continued division of cells with DNA mutations could eventually lead to cancer, the researchers said.

Earlier studies found an association between chlamydia infections and an increased risk of cervical and ovarian cancer in people, but such studies cannot prove cause and effect. The new study provides a biological explanation for how chlamydia could increase the risk of cancer.

However, because the study was conducted in cells in a lab dish, more research is needed to show the same thing occurs in people.

The new study, conducted by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin, was published June 12 in the journal Cell Host & Microbe.

Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis. Most infected people have no symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, untreated infections can damage the reproductive tract in women, and cause infertility. Complications from untreated infections are rare in men, but the condition can cause a burning sensation when urinating, and very rarely, prevent a man from fathering children, the CDC says.

Persistent infection by Chlamydia Treatment may increase the risk of cancer via damage to the DNA, according to a report published in the journal Cell Host & Damage. In addition to mutating host cell DNA, the disease also inhibits cellular mechanisms intended to repair the damage.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin grew human cells in a lab, then infecting them with chlamydia. The group of cells infected were more likely to show damage than their uninfected counterparts.

The researchers also found that the damage done to the cells is similar to the damage done by cancer. Cells that did not simply die when infected went on to reproduce others imprinted with the same DNA damage.

In 2009, the Center For Disease Control reported that 84,000 women were diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer. It's unclear how many may have been linked with a chlamydia infection, but doctors urge women - who can host the disease for long periods of time with no symptoms - to get screened for it.