Gonorrhoea could become “untreatable”, a health expert has warned.
An increasing number of people catching the sexually transmitted infection are finding it does not respond to antibiotics.
In addition, the total number of infections is at its highest since records began in 1918, with 85,223 cases diagnosed in England last year.
Symptoms include a thick green or yellow discharge from the vagina or penis, according to the NHS website.
If left untreated, it can cause infertility.
But while gonorrhoea is generally easy to treat, some strains are becoming increasingly drug resistant, data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has shown.
The first-line treatment in England is via an antibiotic called ceftriaxone.
While only nine ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhoea infections were reported in England from 2015 until 2021, that rose to 15 between June 2022 and May 2024.
Five of those were classed as “extensively drug-resistant” – meaning they did not respond to both first and second-line treatment options and to other antibiotics.
All drug-resistant cases were among heterosexual people, mostly in their 20s, and mainly acquired abroad.
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“Gonorrhoea is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, risking the possibility of it becoming untreatable in the future,” said Dr Helen Fifer, consultant microbiologist at the UKHSA.
“Untreated gonorrhoea can lead to serious health issues, including pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility.”
Condoms are the “best defence”, Dr Fifer added. Anyone who did not use one with a new or casual partner is urged to get tested.
Professor Matt Phillips, president of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH), 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.”
Source Agencies
