# Doctors link STI rise among Bengaluru youth to awareness gap 2026-08-16T07:16:33+00:00 | Health & Science | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Doctors in Bengaluru are reporting a rise in sexually transmitted infections among adolescents and young adults, with patients as young as 16 to 18 seeking treatment. The Times of India reports that common infections include chlamydia, gonorrhoea, genital herpes, HPV and syphilis. Gynaecologists at Fortis, Altius and Sakra World hospitals say they see 20 to 40 STI cases in patients under 20 each year, often arriving with friends rather than parents. Dr Sneha Rajiv of Fortis Hospital said the trend over the past five years partly reflects greater awareness and improved diagnostic access, not necessarily riskier behaviour. However, doctors warn that many young people wrongly believe the absence of symptoms means they are infection-free. Asymptomatic STIs can lead to infertility, chronic pelvic pain and increased HIV risk if untreated. The doctors urge comprehensive, evidence-based sex education in schools, including consent, contraception and HPV vaccination. They call for confidential, non-judgmental healthcare settings to help reduce stigma and encourage timely testing and treatment. ## Coverage - timesofindia.indiatimes.com This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Bengaluru, doctors, Sex Education, Sexually Transmitted Infections Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/doctors-link-sti-rise-among-bengaluru-youth-to-awareness-gap/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/doctors-link-sti-rise-among-bengaluru-youth-to-awareness-gap/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/