‘Super Gonorrhoea’ Outbreak

Gonorrhoea cases have reached an all-time high due to growing concerns about an imported super strain that is becoming resistant to treatment.

The number of cases of gonorrhoea recorded in England in the year exceeded 85,000, the most since 1918.

Those who engage in condom-free sex with new or casual partners are advised to get tested by the UK Health Security Agency, which released the statistics.

It issued a warning that although most cases of the virus are easily treatable, many types are more difficult to eradicate due to their resistance to standard treatments.

Continued infection puts a person at risk of infertility.

A type that poses a ‘particular threat’ is ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhoea, the UKHSA said.

Ceftriaxone is the ‘first line’ antibiotic used to treat gonorrhoea in England and so resistance to the drug can make treatment difficult, especially for gonorrhoea infections in the throat.

Between June 2022 and May 2024, 15 ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhoea cases were detected in England, including five that were ‘extensively drug-resistant’, meaning resistant to both first- and second-line treatment options and to other antibiotics.

There have only been nine instances found in England overall up to 2022.

All identified cases to date have involved heterosexuals, the majority of whom are in their 20s, and the majority of whom contracted the virus overseas.

There has been limited transmission within England, but the UKHSA said the increasing number of cases in recent years is ‘concerning’ as it raises the chance of ‘wider spread and treatment challenges’.

Dr Helen Fifer, a consultant microbiologist at UKHSA, said: ‘Gonorrhoea is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, risking the possibility of it becoming untreatable in the future.

Dr Helen Fifer, a consultant microbiologist at UKHSA, said: ‘Gonorrhoea is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, risking the possibility of it becoming untreatable in the future.

‘Untreated gonorrhoea can lead to serious health issues, including pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility.

‘Condoms are the best defence, but if you didn’t use one with a recent new or casual partner, get tested to detect the infection and prevent onwards transmission.’

Professor Matt Phillips, president of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, said: ‘The rise of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea infections in England is a worrying trend that must be addressed with immediate action.

‘Antibiotic resistance of STIs poses an increasingly major public health threat, which can create physical and psychological harms and place additional demands on other parts of the NHS.

‘BASHH, alongside sector partners, has repeatedly called for a sexual health strategy for England; this must be a priority if our expert sexual health workforce are to effectively meet these growing and changing needs in sexual health.’

Meanwhile, syphilis rates continue to rise, according to the most recent UKHSA statistics.

People are not struggling to access contraception, such as condoms, there is no shortage of them and supermarkets and chemists are still open and they sell them quite regularly. This is about personal responsibility and self-control.

Just like all other diseases that were eradicated, they are now reappearing. However, STDs have never been fully eradicated, but it are preventable if people just follow safe sex. If they decide not to, then they reap what they sow.

Please use a condom, particularly if you feel the desire to have sex with more than one partner. It helps prevent the transmission of all STIs and being screened regularly allows you to live the healthiest possible life.