<p><br /> Young women are "particularly vulnerable" to picking up sexually transmitted infections (STIs), experts are warning.<br /> </p><p><br /> Figures showed almost half a million (482,696) new cases of STIs were diagnosed in the UK last year, up almost 12,000 on the previous year.<br /> </p><p><br /> Of these, young adults account for most new cases but there are also concerns about infections among gay men.<br /> </p><p><br /> The Health Protection Agency (HPA), which collected the figures, said more needed to be be done to encourage people to practise safe sex.<br /> </p><p><br /> Two-thirds of new STI cases in women were among under-25s, including 73 per cent of new cases of gonorrhoea in women and 66 per cent of new cases of genital warts.<br /> </p><p><br /> Some 88 per cent of new cases of chlamydia - the most common STI in the UK - in women were found in the same age group.<br /> </p><p><br /> Re-infection is also an issue, with at least 11 per cent of 16 to 19-year-old women in England becoming re-infected with an STI within one year of being treated for a previous one.<br /> </p>
