New figures released by the Health Protection Agency show that the number of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and other conditions diagnosed in genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics in the UK increased by 3% between 2004 and 2005.
However over the same period new cases of gonorrhoea fell by 13%, a substantial decrease for the second successive year.
Professor Peter Borriello, Director of the Centre for Infections, said:
"Today's figures contain mixed news. The number of new cases of gonorrhoea fell by 13%, from 22,350 in 2004 to 19,495 in 2005. This is particularly significant given the previous 10% fall in cases from 2003 to 2004, and with fewer cases reported across all English regions, it appears real progress is being made. However it is disappointing to see that there was a further rise in new diagnoses of STIs in 2005, and these figures show there is still much to be done to tackle the continuing spread of infection. We have seen increases over the past year in new diagnoses of chlamydia, syphilis, genital warts and genital herpes."
There was a significant increase in the number of new syphilis diagnoses, which rose by 23% from 2,278 in 2004 to 2,807 in 2005. However this was a smaller increase than in previous years – new cases rose by 39% from 2003 to 2004. New syphilis cases were particularly marked among women, where the increase was almost two and a half times higher than that among men.
Chlamydia remains the most commonly diagnosed STI, with 109,832 new cases in 2005, a 5% increase on the previous year. The highest rates of infection and highest increases in diagnoses were seen for both sexes in the 16 to 24 age group.
The number of new diagnoses for 2005 show: