HEALTH chiefs have warned the safe sex message is not hitting home after numbers of syphilis cases rose by more than 2,000 per cent in the last decade.

For every working day last year, 200 new sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were diagnosed in the north west and experts say people taking 'unnecessary risks' are to blame.

"Every year around 75,000 people in the region are diagnosed with an STI but this is just the tip of the iceberg," warned Prof Mark Bellis, director of the centre for public health at Liverpool John Moores University.

"Many people are unaware they are infected and others feel uncomfortable about seeking treatment. Unless we encourage more discussion these uncounted and untreated individuals, through ignorance or embarrassment, will infect others and put their own health at risk of permanent damage."

Health Protection Agency figures showed an increase of just four per cent in new STIs diagnosed, from 73,348 in 2003 to 76,214 in 2004.

But a HPA spokesperson said: "The rate of increase appears to be stabilising but we are still seeing worrying trends. Diagnoses of syphilis have increased by 33 per cent since 2003 and by a whopping 2,200 per cent over the past 10 years.

"We need to treat these figures seriously and look for new ways to influence attitudes and behaviours so the safer sex message is taken on board."

Syphillis, a disease that causes painful sores on the skin and can jeopardise the health of an unborn child, was not the only STI on the rise.

Chlamydia, which causes infertility, rose by 280 per cent in the last decade and gonorrhoea by 175 per cent. Doctors say this could be partly due to better and more widespread testing but remain concerned.