Some 136,000 people underwent a test for a sexually transmitted disease in the Netherlands last year, a drop of 3% on 2014, according to new figures from the public health institute RIVM.

Of them, 17% were found to have an STD, compared with 15.5% in the year before. The number of both men and woman found to have chlamydia, which can lead to infertility, rose 5% and there was a 27% increase in syphilis infections – mainly among gay men.

The number of hiv tests carried out on straight men and women last year plummeted 44%. This is because tests are only free if there is a ‘medical indication’ of possible infection, the RIVM said.

Last year, 288 people tested positive for hiv, a drop of 11% on 2014. Of them, 90% were either gay or bisexual men, the RIVM said.