Tel Aviv has seen a drastic rise in the number of sexually transmitted diseases over the past year, reports Yediot Tel Aviv. Genital herpes, chlamydia, syphilis and HIV have all risen sharply from 2006 to 2007 in figures collated by the Health Ministry. According to the report, the incidence of syphilis in Israel rose by a staggering 36 percent in 2006-7, with one in every five syphilis sufferers a resident of Tel Aviv. By comparison, only one in 500 syphilis sufferers came from Jerusalem. Similarly, the incidence of chlamydia rose by 21% around Israel in 2006-7, with one in two sufferers a resident of Tel Aviv. And the incidence of HIV rose by 10% around Israel. A spokeswoman for the infectious diseases department at Tel Hashomer Hospital said that while 10 years ago there had been one case of syphilis for every 200,000 Israelis, now there are eight. She said the rise was mainly to be found among Ethiopian and Soviet immigrants. A doctor said protection should be worn to prevent the transmission of such diseases.