STI's relentless march - and the inevitable jerking knees...

The BBC reports (both in the Today programme this morning and on its www site here) that STIs continue to rise, particularly among the young.

The usual knee-jerk responses were also available:

Dr Colm O'Mahony, a consultant physician in sexual health, told BBC Radio 5 live, that the safe sex message was still not getting through to young people.

"In general, most STIs occur in young people because they lack the knowledge and self-esteem to actually avoid getting sexually transmitted infections - and that's what we've been shouting about for years," he said.

"We really need proper sex and relationship education in schools, and it needs to be a statutory obligation or this relentless increase will just continue unabated."

Perhaps the most worrying thing, apart from the moral bankruptcy and sheer idiocy of reflected in the comments above ('the fire is still raging, no matter how much petrol we pour on it. We must pour some more!') is the following:

The HPA says the bacteria which cause gonorrhoea are becoming more resistant to the most commonly used antibiotics.
Professor Cathy Ison, from the agency's Centre for Infections, said: "We could see gonorrhoea becoming a very difficult infection to treat within the next five years.

So the inevitable is happening (see my previous posts tagged 'open systems') and the diseases are now becoming resistant to antibiotics.

Quick - pass the petrol!