The report on sexually transmitted diseases for last year suggests that no part of the UK is unaffected and that the country is in the grip of a sexual health crisis.

Experts said that safe sex was still not being practised with either new or casual partners, adding that some infections could have no symptoms for a considerable time.

In Scotland, there were 364 new cases of HIV infection last year, the highest annual total since recording started in 1986. Increased testing, particularly at local clinics, is considered to be the main explanation for the increase in new diagnoses.

However, the numbers of AIDS diagnoses and AIDS related deaths in HIV infected individuals have fallen since the introduction of effective therapies almost a decade ago.

Infectious syphilis has surfaced as a serious health risk, with 189 cases recorded at clinics, which compares to fewer than 20 cases annually in the late 1990’s. All but 3% of cases involved men, and most were gay men having sex with other men.

The majority of cases emanate from Edinburgh and Glasgow, with the venues for new partners starting in bars, clubs and saunas. In Tayside, only three new cases, all involving men, were recorded. There were five in Fife.

Genital chlamydia cases have increased steeply with Scottish diagnoses up by 110% between 2000 and 2004. Two thirds of those affected were under 25, although it is accepted screening and other diagnostic aids have helped to identify ever-higher incidences of the disease.

In Tayside, 321 men were identified as new cases, with 437 women involved. In Fife, there were a total of 700 new cases.

Only gonorrhoea appears to have stabilised over the past year, with 845 new cases, with is comparable to the numbers in the past four years, although much lower than it was in the 1980s. Three quarters involved men in the gay population. Tayside noted 44 new cases and Fife 32.

The number of genital herpes cases has increased by 50%, more than half of those involving women, while the incidence of genital warts has increased by 10%. Two thirds of those involved females and one half of the men involved were under 25.

The report, compiled by Health Protection Scotland and the Information Services Division of NHS Scotland, noted the workloads of genitourinary medicine clinics have seen a sustained rise, mostly due to the large increase in the uptake of HIV testing.

Holyrood’s SNP health spokesperson, MSP Shona Robison, Dundee East, described the figures as deeply shocking and demanded that the Scottish Executive review its sexual health strategy. “The message about sexual health is clearly not getting through and this must be changed radically to get across how damaging these diseases can be in the long term.”