144,000 youths in UK diagnosed with sex infections in 1 year

A sexually transmitted infection (STI) is diagnosed in a young person every four minutes in England, a report by health chiefs revealed Thursday.

Last year alone over 144,000 cases of chlamydia or gonorrhoea were diagnosed in 15 to 24 year olds in England, Public Health England reported.

The figures were released Thursday as PHE launched its "Protect Against STIs" campaign aimed at young people aged 15-plus. It highlights the increased likelihood of contracting a life-changing STIs if people have sex without a condom.

The health agency said the majority of STIs, such as chlamydia are symptomless, while gonorrhoea is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics and at risk of becoming untreatable in the future.

Rates of STIs in England remain high across England, and there has been a significant year-on-year increase in certain cases like gonorrhoea which saw a 22 percent increase from 2016 to 2017.

In 2017 there were approximately 420,000 diagnoses of STIs in England, with chlamydia accounting for nearly half and over 44,000 diagnoses of gonorrhoea.

PHE said a large proportion of STI diagnoses are among young people aged 15 to 24, who account for 63 percent of chlamydia diagnoses and 37 percent of gonorrhoea diagnoses.

The campaign launched Thursday with a nationwide social media, digital audio campaign targeted at 16 to 24 year olds.