Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHSSyphilis, gonorrhoea and chlamydia cases double in a decade
Clinics in Scotland have seen the number of cases of STIs almost double in a decade, official NHS figures show.
Incidents of diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhoea and chlamydia have increased from 12,077 in 1998 to 23,171 in 2008, according to NHS figures
The workload at genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics increased 16% last year, with staff diagnosing 9,332 cases of genital chlamydia and 7,360 cases of genital warts.
The figures showed that 119 people were diagnosed with HIV, while there were 829 cases of gonorrhoea, 270 of infectious syphilis.
Nearly one in four acute sexually transmitted infections were diagnosed in people under 20, a total of 5,652 cases.
Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Ross Finnie said: ‘It is clear from these figures that people still aren’t getting the message about safe sex in Scotland, especially young people.
‘More effort must be made in making it clear that an STI is not a badge of honour but can lead to serious and lasting health problems.’
He said the actual number of STIs was likely to be even higher since the figures were only from GUM clinics, while many were diagnosed at GP practices or family planning centres.
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