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More than 23,200 people in the north-east of England are being treated for sexually transmitted infections- an increase of 10% in just one year. This is far higher than the national rise of 2%, a new report by the Health Protection Agency has revealed.

The biggest increase was in the spread of syphilis, rife in Victorian England, which is up by 37% and chlamydia which rose by 29.5%.

Health chiefs said the rise is partly because more people are being tested.

But the report was not all bad news and revealed the number of new cases of gonorrhoea has fallen by 10%, from 666 to 597 cases in 12 months.

Dr Vivien Hollyoak, director of the Health Protection Agency in the North East, said: "We know that the rise in the number of cases diagnosed partly reflects the greater availability of screening.

'Use a condom'

"This detects cases that otherwise would remain undiagnosed, such as chlamydia which often produces little or no symptoms, leaving people unaware that they are infected.

"The rise is also partly attributable to more people coming forward for testing due to greater awareness of the risk of sexually transmitted infection.

"This is important because early detection of infection is essential to ensure successful treatment and to reduce the spread of these infections."

The latest figures compared disease rates from 2003 and 2004.

Dr Hollyoak added: "But most importantly the figures highlight how vital it is for people to take responsibility for their sexual health and to use a condom with new and casual partners."

BBC News

The number of sexually transmitted infections in Devon and Cornwall is continuing to rise, according to the Health Protection Agency. Its figures show the total number of diagnosed sexually transmitted infections rose overall by 2% in 2004.

The agency said syphilis was one of the biggest areas of concern after a 72% rise to 98 cases during the year.

Chlamydia rose by 12% with more women aged between 16 and 19 testing positive. Gonorrhoea cases fell by 20%.

Health bosses are warning the increase is putting massive pressure on the NHS.

They are calling for people to take the message of safe sex more seriously.

BBC News

A woman has been suspended over claims that mobile phone clips of her having sex were seen by hundreds of colleagues. The Swansea-based Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) worker was said to have downloaded clips to her mobile phone and sent the footage to friends.

Within hours, the clips were said to have been sent to 300 fellow workers.

The DVLA said a "junior employee" was suspended amid an inquiry into "alleged circulation of unacceptable material."

The woman, reported to be in her twenties, has been told to stay at home until the investigation is completed.

More than 6,000 people work for the DVLA, most of them based in a 20-storey building in the Morriston area of Swansea.

Many are said to have viewed the clips by the time managers stepped in.

"Nobody could quite believe what they were seeing," the South Wales Evening Post quoted one worker.

"The pictures appeared to show her and her partner making love," the anonymous worker told the newspaper.

"They went from one camera phone to the next. I think at least 300 or so people had it on their mobile phones by the time it was stopped.

"Everyone was passing on the pictures."

A DVLA spokeswoman said: "A junior DVLA employee is currently under suspension pending the outcome of an internal investigation into the alleged circulation of unacceptable material."

The centre processes driving licences for the UK and is one of the biggest employers in the region.

BBC News

Police in Holland are hunting a man who goes up to women and gives them a French kiss.

Seven women have so far lodged complaints about the mystery man, reports De Morgen.

But police believe he may well have kissed other women who did not report it.

The serial kisser attacks at underground stations between Amsterdam city centre and the south-east of the city.

Police spokesman Ron Moes said the man usually approached his victims from behind and taps them on the shoulder.

"When they turn, he grips them and kisses them on the mouth, pushing his tongue into their mouth," he said.

His victims, who were aged between 17 and 30, were so confused by the man that they have been unable to give police a good description.

But officers have established that he is aged 19 to 20, dark-skinned and usually wears a long dark coat with a cap.

Police have one more lead. They managed to recover some saliva from the mouth of one woman who went to police immediately after she was kissed by the man

Ananova

US postal workers called in the bomb squad when they noticed a parcel vibrating - only to find it contained sex toys.

The police bomb squad flew in by helicopter after the alarm was raised at Bluffton post office in South Carolina.

Post office workers were worried after noticing a suspicious looking white package laying by itself in a loading area.

Bluffton Police Chief John Brown told the Island Packet: "When they went to check it out, it was vibrating."

Police evacuated the building and called the local SWAT team which called the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division bomb squad.

An FBI special agent and postal inspectors soon arrived on scene and firefighters and emergency medical personnel arrived to remain on standby.

Bomb specialists removed the contents of the package - and found two vibrators.

"It turned out to be a novelty gift," Chief Brown said. Police think the package may have been dropped as mail was being loaded or unloaded.

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Young British holidaymakers abroad shun local culture in favour of alcohol and sex, an official report has said. The Foreign Office report, called Project Holiday, surveyed 1000 Britons aged between 16 and 30.

One third said holidays were all about enjoying hedonistic activities, with 75% looking forward to excessive drinking, and 28% one-night stands.

The survey found holidaymakers from the West Midlands were most likely to crave drink, drugs and sex abroad.

One third said they agreed with the statement: "I usually end up doing stupid things but it doesn't matter because it's all part of enjoying myself."

Drinking and brawling

Almost 60% of West Midlands holidaymakers visited nightclubs abroad, compared to an average of 47%.

The Welsh were the least likely to rate sex as their most important reason to go abroad, with only five percent putting it in first place, according to the report.

Those from the north-west rated drinking their most important factor, while 20% of travellers from eastern England said the prospect of brawling was a major part of their holiday.

Holidaymakers from the south-west were most likely to rate cultural highlights as being important 44%, compared to only 18% from the West Midlands, the survey found.

BBC News

Men who abstain from sex thinking it will boost sperm quality and help them conceive are mistaken, a study shows. Waiting too long reduces their fathering power, particularly if they already have low sperm counts, the Israeli authors say.

By looking at 1,800 semen samples from 900 men they found pausing from sex for no more than a day was best.

The study, by Soroka University Hospital, was presented at a European fertility conference in Denmark.

Lead researcher Dr Eliyaho Levitas said: "Some people abstain for weeks thinking that they are doing good.

"But every two days would be much better."

All of the men in the study had attended Dr Levitas' fertility clinic for investigation because they and their female partners were having difficulty conceiving.

Dr Levitas divided the men up according to whether they had low or normal sperm counts.

He then looked at the quality of the sperm in relation to how long each man had abstained from sex before providing a sperm sample, which ranged from 0 to 14 days.

Among the men with low sperm counts, abstaining for two days or more reduced both the motility of the sperm - how well it can swim to the egg - and a measure called the acrosome index, which reflects what proportion of the sperm have the necessary machinery to penetrate the egg.

Quality declines

Among the men with normal sperm counts, the motility only began to decrease after 11 days of abstinence and the acrosome index hit its lowest after five days of abstinence.

Currently, many fertility clinics and sperm banks recommend three to five days abstinence. But Dr Levitas says this is too long for men with low sperm counts.

Although he did not look at whether the decline in motility and acrosome index with abstinence affected the conception rate, both factors are known to be important in infertility.

Dr Levitas told the European Society for Human Reproduction and Endocrinology annual meeting: "I'm not sure if that will lead to fertility problems.

"It might be bad, depending on where you start from - men with low sperm counts, for example.

"The best they can do is be short in their abstinence."

By Michelle Roberts
BBC News health reporter in Copenhagen
BBC News

A group of Pakistani sex workers have visited the red light district in the Indian city of Calcutta to discuss safe sex practices and combating Aids. It is the first ever visit by Pakistani sex workers to any red light district in India.

The BBC's Subir Bhaumik in Calcutta says over the last decade, sex workers there have formed a powerful organisation to protect their rights.

The have successfully improved their health standards.

They have also organised campaigns to raise awareness on preventing HIV/Aids.

The group of sex workers from the Pakistani city of Hyderabad visited Sonagachi - a sprawling red light district in north Calcutta.

"They have come to the right place because we are the most organised group of sex workers anywhere in Asia," Swapna Gayen, who heads the Calcutta sex workers' association, told the BBC.

Safe sex

They were briefed by local sex workers on how they have managed to combat sexually transmitted diseases and HIV.

"It was unbelievable to the delegation that Sonagachi's sex workers refuse sex without a condom even in the face of physical torture," Majid Rani, who led the Pakistani team, is quoted as saying by AFP.

She said this was unthinkable in Pakistan and sex workers there would often be forced to have sex without condoms.

The visiting Pakistani women also visited a creche for the children of sex workers and a consumer cooperative.

But Ms Gayen said they were particularly interested in brothel management and anti-Aids programmes.

Pakistan has 2,300 HIV-positive people, according to official figures.

But the World Health Organisation estimates that the figure could be closer to 80,000.

BBC News

Doctors should accept people wanting fertility treatment will travel abroad to get it, experts have been told. Many people travel for treatment which is either expensive or banned at home, Professor Guido Pennings of the University of Ghent said.

Rather than preventing the practice it should be viewed as a "safety value" helping avoid moral conflict, he said.

Professor Pennings was addressing the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology meeting in Denmark.

UK regulators warned people they could be taking a risk by travelling abroad for treatment.

Costs vary

The availability of assisted reproduction techniques such as IVF varies from country to country.

In 2001, for example, Denmark carried out 1,923 cycles per million of its population.

In contrast, the UK carried out 593 cycles per million.

Costs for treatment also vary widely - treatment in countries such as Hungary and Slovenia cost around 2,400 euros (£1,608) in 2004, compared to up to £4,000 in the UK.

Better knowledge

Professor Pennings, an expert on ethics and bioethics, said fertility tourism was increasing because people were more used to travelling and were better informed about policies in other countries and clinics by means of the internet.

"Some clinics facilitate foreign patients by offering packages, including visas, hotels and interpreters."

He said Italy was an example of a country where people were voting with their feet after new laws were passed that mean no screening or freezing of pre-implanted embryos; no sperm or egg donation; no surrogacy or embryo research.

"Reproductive tourism illustrates the conflict between ethics and politics," he said.

"Although the majority has the political right to express its moral views in the law, legislation should try not to express the moral convictions of only one group in society."

'Cheaper treatments'

Rather than seeking to harmonise reproduction laws across Europe to prevent such tourism, countries should embrace the diversity, he said.

"It may increase justice by giving people, who cannot pay for the treatment at home, the ability to look for cheaper treatments elsewhere," he said.

IVF success rates are as good in Eastern Europe as elsewhere, but clinics are often unregulated.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority says this means people who travel abroad for treatment could be putting their health at risk.

A spokesman said: "If you go abroad you do not know what you are getting and you are going to be taking a risk."

BBC News

A couple who were born on the same maternity ward within hours are getting married.

Laura Keeping and Daniel Harman were born on the same unit 21 years ago reports The Sun.

Their mothers Julie and Susan became friends at St Mary's Hospital, Portsmouth and even joked that their children would end up together.

The parents stayed friends but Daniel and Laura did not meet properly until they were 18.

They started dating a year later after finding out they were both at the same college. Daniel proposed last year.

Daniel said: "When I looked in a book of memories my mum kept from when I was born, one of the first people to write in it was Laura's mum. It's really bizarre. Everyone says it must be destiny."

The couple will marry in September.

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