Holiday sex prompts rise in hospital visits
Promiscuous behaviour by young holidaymakers has triggered a rise in sexually-transmitted diseases, a study has found.
Many young people are having unprotected sex while abroad and ending up in hospital clinics when they come home, the BBC reports.
The study has been carried out by Dr Karen Rogstad of Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital and has been published in the British Medical Journal.
The Health Protection Agency said more than 1.5 million people attended genitourinary medicine clinics in the UK in 2002, up 15 per cent on then year before.
Cases of sex infections like chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhoea and genital herpes were all on the increase, and between 2000 and 2002, 69 per cent of men in the UK who acquired HIV from heterosexual sex were infected while abroad.
One in five of all cases of syphilis were from sexual contacts abroad and nine per cent of people with gonorrhoea reported sex abroad in the preceding three months, Dr Rogstad’s study said.
At one clinic, research showed 25 per cent of patients had slept with a new partner while on holiday – and 66 per cent had not used condoms.
“Holidays are increasingly being taken abroad and in far flung locations,” said Dr Rogstad. “Preventative advice should be offered to all holidaymakers, particularly those going to the developing world.”
Ginny McGrath
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025