Mental Health
Sexually Transmitted Diseases on the Rise Among Men Under 25
The number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases among youngsters is always on a rise and it can be blamed upon unsafe sex among young heterosexuals and gay men, a new study suggests.
In 2011, the number of people diagnosed with STDs in England rose by 2 percent with gonorrhea showing a rise of 25%, the steepest rise followed by syphilis and genital herpes which showed an increase of 10% and 5%, respectively.
The Health Protection Agency has warned against a 'significant rise' in the number of STD diagnosed cases among gay men.
The rates of STDs were found to be very high, particularly among young heterosexual men between the ages of 15 and 24, a Mail Online report said.
There was apparently a four percent fall in chlamydia cases, which is reportedly due to a worrying trend because of which not everyone is being screened.
The rise in gonorrhoea cases was particularly worrying for the agency.
"We have seen emerging resistance to the current frontline antibiotics that are used. We are worried that in the next five years gonorrhoea is going to be a very difficult infection to treat," Dr Gwenda Hughes was quoted as saying by Mail Online.
"Increasing numbers of men who have sex with men are meeting online and through the use of apps on their phones. So we are starting to work in those areas," Lisa Power, of the Terrence Higgins Trust, the HIV and sexual health charity, said according to the report.
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