A NEW and more virulent form of the sexual transmitted disease syphilis is threatening to spread across the North-East as couples fail to heed safe sex warnings.

In a year, incidents of a tough form of the disease which does not respond to traditional antibiotics have increased by 750 per cent.

If left untreated, the disease can cause mental illness, blindness, heart disease and can kill in extreme cases.

Meanwhile, the number of sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) has risen by more than 21 per cent in the North-East - one of the worst rates in the country and twice that of London.

Cases of gonorrhoea in men in the region have soared by 42 per cent - from 371 in 2001 to 527 last year.

Both men and women are falling prey to the infections, and STIs are being contracted the most by the 16 to 19 and 35 to 44 age groups.

The younger age group belongs to a new generation of sexually active people who seem oblivious to the dangers of unprotected sex.

The older group is believed to comprise people who are divorced or separated and are back on the dating scene. Many infections are caught while on holiday abroad.

Infections are also spreading in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities.

Syphilis in men has risen from two cases in 2001 to 17 cases last year and the new form responds only to certain antibiotics.

Darlington Primary Care Trust's HIV prevention specialist Tim Holmes said: "Recently, there has been an outbreak of syphilis the likes of which has not been seen since the 1970s. The LGBT community has to work together with sexual health service providers to promote positive sexual health messages to combat the rising rates of STIs and HIV."

The Family Planning Association is calling for a nationwide screening programme for women under the age of 25 in a bid to cut the number of chlamydia cases - which can leave women infertile.

At the same time, care trusts across the region have embarked on a major educational programme this week to coincide with the national Sexual Health Week campaign.

The Blitz Bus, run by the Darlington and District Youth and Community Association, is staging evening information and advice sessions in the town.

Confidential genito-urinary medicine clinics operate across the region, which are best placed to diagnose and treat STIs with the latest drugs for the most recent strains of the disease.