International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Young women under the age of 25 are most at risk from sexually transmitted infections (STIs), according to experts.

They are "particularly vulnerable" to picking them up, a Health Protection Agency (HPA) study has shown.

Almost half a million (482,696) new cases of STIs were diagnosed in the UK last year. In 2008, the figures were 12,000 lower.

Young adults account for the majority of new cases but there is still concern surrounding homosexual men too.

More needs to be done to discourage unsafe sex practices, according to the HPA.

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

Dr Gwenda Hughes, head of the HPA's STI section, said: "These latest figures show that poor sexual health is a serious problem among the UK's young adults."

According to Bupa, chlamydia is the most common STI in the UK and, over the past ten years, there has been a rise in the number of STI cases in the country.

Posted by David Smith