Birmingham is the sexually transmitted infection capital of the UK, according to new research.
Data taken from 5,000 online consultations from the online clinic HealthExpress showed that Birmingham residents sought the most advice about sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Following Birmingham were the residents of East London, with Glasgow coming in a close third.
There has been a significant rise in the number of reported cases of STIs in the UK since the 1990s
In all locations, chlamydia was the most commonly treated STI, with gonorrhoea and genital warts being the second and third.
There has been a significant rise in the number of reported cases of STIs in the UK since the 1990s, with the number of reported cases of chlamydia tripling between 1995 and 2005.
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The most affected age group of used to be 16 to 24-year-olds, but the online clinic found that the average age has risen to 34.9.
STI HOTSPOTS IN THE UK
1. Birmingham
2. East London
3. Glasgow
4. South East London
5. South West London
6. Manchester
7. Cardiff
8. North London
9. Sheffield
10. West London
Whats more, the number of older people contracting STIs had risen, HealthExpress having treated 453 patients who over the age of 60.
A 2010 report from the Health Protection Agency found a rise in the number of people in their 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s having sex with new partners since 2000.
The study also found that there had been an increase in all of the five main STIs in older age groups, with the age group 45 to 64 witnessing the biggest rise in syphilis, herpes, chlamydia and genital warts between 2000 and 2009.
‘For the last two decades, the number of reported STIs has continued to increase, despite further education drives to teach us how to have safe sex,’ said Dr Hilary Jones, Medical Adviser at HealthExpress.
‘There are a number of STIs that can be caught from either unprotected sex or close contact.
‘Some are treatable, such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea, however those caused by viral infections such as genital herpes and genital warts may be difficult to treat or be incurable, and you could suffer symptoms throughout your life.
‘Curable, or incurable, all STIs pose a risk to your health and can cause permanent damage or infertility if left untreated, so it is imperative you seek advice if you have been put at risk of infection.'
AND COULD GONORRHOEA BE UNTREATABLE BY 2015?
Urgent action is needed to prevent drug-resistant gonorrhoea spreading, say experts.
Gonorroea - or 'the clap' - is the second most common STI in England.
In 2011 new diagnoses rose to nearly 21,000 - a jump of 25 per cent in just one year.
Over a third of cases were men, up from around a quarter in 2010.
Professor Cathy Ilson, lead author of the Gonococcal Resistance to Antimicrobials Surveillance Programe (GRASP) said: ' Ensuring treatment resistant gonorrheoa strains do not persist and spread remains a major public health concern.'
Cases of treatment failure have been reported globally and, with no antimicrobial agents in the pipeline, England's Chief Medical Officer recently advised government to add the threat of infection resistance to frontline antibiotics to the civil emergencies risk register.
One in ten people will not suffer symptoms but in women, discharge, pain in the abdomen or when passing urine as well as bleeding between periods are signs.
In men, pain and inflammation of the penis - particularly when urinating - and testicles are also symptoms.