A microscopic image of a cell infected with the HIV virus.
Cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the UK continue to increase steadily, particularly among homosexual men and young people, new figures show.
HIV diagnosis rates in the UK are the third highest in Europe, with only Estonia and Portugal reporting more new cases per million inhabitants, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
It is estimated by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) that 73,000 UK adults are now living with HIV - of whom around a third (21,600) do not know they have the disease.
The HPA anticipates that there will have been over 2,700 new diagnoses of HIV among homosexual men in 2006. It reports a steady increase in all STIs within this group in recent years.
There have also been increases in the number of young people being diagnosed with STIs. One in ten young people tested as part of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme in 2006 tested positive for the infection. Gonorrhoea and Chlamydia are most common among 16-24 year olds.
An HPA spokesman commented on the figures: "We need to reinforce the safe sex message for gay men, young adults and the broader community. The best way to protect yourself from contracting an STI including HIV is by practising safer sex."
However, Norman Wells, of Family and Youth Concern, said: "We need to start sending out the message that the only sure way of avoiding these infections is to keep sexual intimacy within a mutually faithful marriage."
