Cases of serious sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, gonorrhoea, syphilis and chlamydia, have more than doubled in Scotland in little more than a decade.

Figures published by the NHS yesterday revealed that there were 22,906 diagnoses of acute STIs in Scottish genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics last year.

That represents an increase of 7 per cent on the previous year, and is 110 per cent in higher than in 1996, when 10,919 cases were diagnosed.

As GUM clinics reported a 13 per cent rise in their workloads last year, the rise is thought to be partly because of increased awareness and testing, but growing levels of chlamydia in young Scots have raised fears that they are ignoring safe sex messages.

According to the figures, four out of five new diagnoses of chlamydia in women last year were for females in the 15 to 24 age range, while 71 per cent of cases in men involved 20 to 34 year olds.

Overall, the number of cases of chlamydia have increased more than five-fold in the past 11 years, jumping from 1,770 in 1996 to 9,461 last year.

Chlamydia, the most common STI seen at GUM clinics in the UK, often has no symptoms and can go undetected. However, the condition has serious health implications, and can cause infertility in men and women alike. About one in seven couples in Britain now has problems conceiving.

Last month the Scottish government announced that it intended to implement a free testing and treatment programme for chlamydia in community pharmacies, but opposition politicians questioned yesterday whether the measure went far enough in the face of the rise in STIs.

Mary Scanlon, health spokeswoman for the Scottish Conservatives, described the new figures as shocking. “One of the most worrying concerns is that chlamydia is mainly symptomless and can lead to infertility,” she said. “Given that two thirds of women diagnosed with chlamydia are seen at family planning clinics or by their GP, it is clear that wider screening is essential. Although chlamydia testing and treatment programmes will be available in community pharmacies later this year, both men and women need to be encouraged to come forward for testing.”

Sexual health campaign groups agreed that STI testing must be made more widely available.

“Whilst it's good news that more people are going to get checked and treated, it also means that many clinics are struggling under the increased workload,” Catherine Murphy, of the Terrence Higgins Trust Scotland, said. “New testing technologies mean that we can now test for many STIs very easily and yet we still have thousands of people accessing specialist clinics.”

The STI figures were in stark contrast with other statistics issued yesterday showing that a record number of women over 50 are coming forward for breast screening. Increased assessment has improved detection and contributed to a significant drop in mortality rates for breast cancer, with a reduction of 9 per cent recorded in 2006.

Shona Robison, the Public Health Minister, urged young Scots to follow the example of their mothers and grandmothers by taking more responsibility for their sexual health.

Ms Robison said: “It is disappointing to see rising rates of STIs, and although there are small signs of improvement in increased awareness and testing, this is not yet enough.”

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