NEW FIGURES released this week show the number of people diagnosed with sexually-transmitted infections in Wiltshire has increased.

The data, released by Public Health England, shows people in the area are continuing to put themselves at risk through unsafe sex and that numbers of positive diagnoses increased from 15,494 in 2011 to 15,463 in 2012 in Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

Young adults and men who have sex with men (MSM) were found to be at highest risk of infection.

Chlamydia continues to be the most common STI with 8,229 cases, and 72 per cent of these cases were in people under the age of 25.

High levels of genital warts – 2,607 cases – and genital herpes – 978 cases – were also reported.

New cases of gonorrhoea rose by 32 per cent in 2012 from 422 cases in 2011 to 556 cases in 2012 Gonorrhoea has risen by 16 per cent among men who have sex with men (MSM), from 128 in 2011 to 209 last year.

Cherry Jones, Acting Director of Public Health at Swindon Council, said: “Encouraging people to practice safe sex is key in ensuring we reduce the number of people who contract an STI.

“It is also very important that anyone who thinks they may have an STI contact their GP or the GUM clinic at Great Western Hospital to treat the disease early and prevent complications and transmission to other people.

“In Swindon we have a number of initiatives to raise awareness and promote safe sex including working with local schools and other settings. We also work closely with our service providers to encourage partner tracing, testing and treatment.

“In Swindon we are good at testing for STIs and proactively test for infections other than the mandatory national Chlamydia testing and we encourage regular testing of sexually active people.”

Individuals can reduce their risk of catching or passing on an STI by always using a condom when having sex with casual and new partners.

Sexually active under-25s should be screened for chlamydia every year, and on change of sexual partner; MSM having unprotected sex with casual or new partners should have an HIV/STI screen at least annually, and every three months if changing partners regularly.