Norwich has been named as the UK’s hotspot for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) chlamydia, gonorrhoea and genital warts, a new analysis shows.
In Bristol, meanwhile, the biggest concerns were syphillis and oral herpes, according to the data compiled in LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor’s annual Safe Sex Report.
The findings come as condom use continues to decline — and the UK is gripped by a massive surge in STIs fuelled by sharp increases in teens and older people.
To compile its report Lloydspharmacy experts questioned 1,000 adults, examined online discussions and search statistics, alongside NHS figures.
The results, they said, aimed to ‘highlight the importance of safe sex and the attitudes surrounding sexually transmitted infections and contraception’.
According to Google search data, the UK’s most searched for STI is chlamydia, averaging more than 76,500 searches per month — a 31 per cent rise in a year.
This was followed by HIV, gonorrhoea, syphilis and scabies — which, while not strictly an STI is often transmitted during sexual activity.
The report also found that the majority of sexually active Brits (41 per cent) are getting intimate once a week.
Norwich has been named as the UK’s hotspot for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) chlamydia, gonorrhoea and genital warts, a new analysis shows
One in 12 (eight per cent) report having sex daily, and one in six (17 per cent) report manage it once a month.
Three in five revealed that they have been diagnosed with an STI before, with one in five admitting they never practice safe sex (with a condom).
Looking more closely at the search data, the report pinpointed specific areas of the UK that were searching for different STIs the most.
Norwich — population 418,000 — saw the highest searches for any STI per capita (per person), with 201 in every 100,000 searching for chlamydia in this area.
The city also saw the highest volume of searches for gonorrhoea — with 111 searcher per 100,000 people — and HPV, the virus that can cause genital warts — with 63 searches per 100,000.
In Birmingham — population 2.6 million — HIV was the greatest worry, with 129 searches per 100,000 people.
Barrow-in-Furness was named as the UKs capital for hepititis fears while Newcastle topped the list for genital herpes (HSV-2) searches.
Residents of Derry, in Northern Ireland, searched the most for scabies and the sleepy south coast town of Woking — population just over 100,000 — saw the greatest searches for mycoplasma genitalium, a bacterial infection.
The findings come as condom use continues to decline — and the UK is gripped by a massive surge in STIs fuelled by sharp increases in teens and older people
The report also used an AI programme to analyse Reddit threads discussing STIs. From this, they were able to highlight the most and least talked about infections, and the algorithm was also able to rate how stressful comments were.
It found that HIV was the most frequently mentioned and the most stressful STI discussed on Reddit, followed by herpes and chlamydia.
Lloydpharmacy Online Doctor GP Dr Bhavini Shah said: ‘HIV and herpes can be a major source of anxiety as they cannot be completely cured.
There are, however, medications and treatments available to help manage these conditions.
If you’re worried you could have contracted HIV in the last 72 hours, you should contact your local sexual health clinic or hospital as soon as possible.’
Herpes, which causes painful blistering sores primarily on the mouth and genitals, was also seen as the source of most social stigma, followed by HIV.
Earlier this year, the UK Health Security Agency reported that there were 401,800 new STIs diagnosed in England in 2023, up 4.7 per cent year on year.
The sharpest rise was among children aged 13 and 14, where the number was up by almost a fifth (19.5 per cent) to 459.
This was followed by pensioners aged 65 and over, with new cases soaring by 18.2 per cent to 2,885.
Some Britons are engaging in risky unprotected sex after meeting on dating apps while others are starting new sexual relationships after getting divorced or being widowed in old age.
Concerns have also been raised about children copying what they see in pornography, freely accessed on their mobile phones.
There was a huge drop in STI infections during the Covid pandemic followed by a boom, as people began returning to normal sexual activity.
However, rates are still below what they were pre-pandemic.
