“Over 85,000 gonorrhoea diagnoses were reported in England” last year, new data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) revealed yesterday (August 15).
The figure is “the highest…since records began in 1918”, it added.
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UKHSA also revealed that between June 2022 and May 2024, some 15 cases of gonorrhoea resistant to “first line” antibiotic ceftriaxone “were detected in England”.
This included “five that were found to be extensively drug-resistant” – “resistant to both first-and second-line treatment options and to other antibiotics,” it said.
“Acquired abroad”
UKHSA revealed that “since the first case detected in England in 2015, there have now been a total of 31 ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhoea cases – seven of which were extensively drug-resistant”.
The body said that “to date, all detected cases have been among heterosexual individuals, mostly in their 20s”.
“Most acquired the infection abroad”, it added.
While “there has been limited transmission within England…the increasing number of cases in recent years is concerning”, it said.
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President of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV Professor Matt Phillips said that “the rise of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea infections in England is a worrying trend that must be addressed with immediate action”.
“Antibiotic resistance of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) poses an increasingly major public health threat that can create physical and psychological harms and place additional demands on other parts of the NHS,” he added.
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The calls come after promises made by the government to “explore opportunities” for making HIV medication pre-exposure prophylaxis (PReP) “available in a variety of settings…including online, general practitioner services and pharmacies” in October.
Meanwhile, UKHSA warned parents to ensure their children are vaccinated against pertussis – also known as whooping cough – in March after recording a “continued increase” in cases of the bacterial infection.
