London worst in UK as sex diseases increase

London has the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections in Britain.

Teenage girls and women in their early twenties are most at risk, according to the figures released today by the Health Protection Agency.

Clinics in the capital made 63,630 diagnoses of diseases such as chlamydia and gonorrhea last year — up from 57,945 in 2008.

Nine out of 31 London NHS trusts topped the league for the highest rates of STIs overall in England.

City and Hackney came first with nearly 2.5 cases for every 100 people in the borough.
The findings also suggest infections are increasing among the middle classes with boroughs such as Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster and Kingston experiencing record rates.

Experts warned the findings reveal that safe sex messages such as using condoms are failing to get through.

Dr Helen Maguire, who tracks STI trends for the agency, said: "These latest figures reveal STIs to be a major and ongoing health issue in London.

"If we are to reduce this trend of poor sexual health in London then people must take responsibility for their own sexual well-being and ensure they use a condom with all new and casual partners."

This is the first year detailed local figures are available and they show increases in all of the five most common STIs across London last year despite a fall in 2008.

The overall figure for STI diagnoses in England was 500,000, the highest number in the 30 years the figures have been collated.

More than two thirds occurred in women under the age of 25, even though they account for only an eighth of the population.