Syphilis cases have soared to their highest levels since 1948, while gonorrhea diagnoses have risen to record levels, official figures show.
The news comes amid a general rise in sexually transmitted infections (STIs), with 401,800 new diagnoses made in England last year.
The figure increased 4.7 percent from 383,789 in 2022, although cases remain below pre-pandemic levels, with 468,139 recorded in 2019.
While most of the 9,513 syphilis cases were in gay men, the UK’s Health Security Agency said there was a larger “proportional increase” in diagnoses among heterosexual men and women.
In 2023, 1,958 cases were diagnosed among heterosexual men and women, a 22 percent increase from 2022, when there were 1,608 cases.
The Local Government Association, which represents councils responsible for running clinics, attributed the rise in infections to people struggling to access contraceptives and the huge demand for care.
Among gay men, cases increased seven percent during the same period.
Syphilis can be fought simply with antibiotics, although it can be life-threatening if left untreated, when it can seriously damage the brain, heart and nervous system.
The new STI statistics for England also show 85,223 cases of gonorrhea detected in 2023, the highest number since records began in 1918.
The disease can cause complications in pregnancy and infertility and in recent years has become increasingly resistant to common antibiotics, experts worry.
Worryingly, the largest increase in new STIs has occurred among children aged 13 and 14, where the number increased by 19.5 percent year-on-year, to 459.
Retirees aged 65 and over followed, with new cases rising 18.2 per cent to 2,885, according to the UKHSA.
Chlamydia accounted for almost half of all new STIs detected, with 194,970 diagnoses in 2023. There were 27,167 first episodes of genital herpes and 26,133 new genital warts.
The Local Government Association, which represents councils responsible for running clinics, attributed the rise in infections to people struggling to access contraceptives and the huge demand for care.
He added that the figures show the need for the next government to launch a ten-year sexual health strategy.
There has not been a new strategy since 2001.
There was also a 5 per cent increase in consultations carried out by sexual health services, rising from 4,392,466 to 4,610,410.
The figures show that there were 216,050 new STIs in men and 169,475 in women, where the sex of the patient was noted.
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Dr Hamish Mohammed, consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, said: “STIs can have a significant impact on your health regardless of your age, gender or sexual orientation.”
‘The best way to reduce the risk of infection is to use a condom consistently and correctly with new or casual partners.
“The NHS offers free and confidential STI testing to detect possible infections and prevent you from passing them on to others.”
Cllr David Fothergill, chair of the LGA Community Wellbeing Board, said: ‘Councils want to continue to encourage more people to visit their local sexual health clinic, particularly those in hard-to-reach communities.
‘However, today’s figures show that sexual health services continue to face increasing demand pressures.
“That’s why we’re calling for a new 10-year strategy to tackle infection rates and ensure sexual health services are adequately funded and resourced for the long term.”
