Young women particularly 'vulnerable to STIs'

Young women are "particularly vulnerable" to picking up sexually transmitted infections (STIs), experts are warning.

Figures showed almost half a million (482,696) new cases of STIs were diagnosed in the UK last year, up almost 12,000 on the previous year.

Of these, young adults account for most new cases but there are also concerns about infections among gay men.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA), which collected the figures, said more needed to be be done to encourage people to practise safe sex.

Two-thirds of new STI cases in women were among under-25s, including 73 per cent of new cases of gonorrhoea in women and 66 per cent of new cases of genital warts.

Some 88 per cent of new cases of chlamydia - the most common STI in the UK - in women were found in the same age group.

Re-infection is also an issue, with at least 11 per cent of 16 to 19-year-old women in England becoming re-infected with an STI within one year of being treated for a previous one.