Expert warns of spread of super-gonorrhoea resistant to antibiotics
Health officials have issued a warning over a "concerning jump" in cases of gonorrhoea that are resistant to strong antibiotics.
New data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reveals that the number of cases of the sexually transmitted infection (STI) gonorrhoea, which are resistant to the antibiotic ceftriaxone, has already surpassed the total number of cases recorded in the previous year.
While overall gonorrhoea cases in England saw a 16 per cent decrease in 2024, with 71,802 diagnoses compared to 85,370 in 2023, the rise in antibiotic-resistant strains remains a significant concern for health authorities.
However, ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhoea cases are being detected more frequently – with 14 in the first five months of 2025 compared with 13 in the whole of the previous year.
Six of the 14 cases this year have been 'extensively drug-resistant', which means that they were resistant to ceftriaxone and then to second-line treatment options, according to the UKHSA.
Ceftriaxone is a strong antibiotic and the main treatment for gonorrhoea.
Experts are therefore concerned when infections fail to respond to it.
Most of these drug-resistant cases are linked with travel to or from the Asia-Pacific region, where the prevalence of ceftriaxone resistance is high.
Elsewhere, among people in England, early-stage syphilis diagnoses rose 1.7%, from 9,375 in 2023 to 9,535 in 2024.
The overall figure for syphilis, including late-stage syphilis or complications from the infection, increased 5% from 12,456 in 2023 to 13,030 in 2024.
Chlamydia fell 13%, from 194,143 diagnoses in 2023 to 168,889 in 2024, while people diagnosed for the first time with genital warts also dropped.
Among women aged 15 to 24 who are recommended to be screened through the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP), there was a 10.7% decrease in the number of chlamydia tests carried out, from 673,102 to 601,295.
Dr Hamish Mohammed, consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, said: 'Levels of STIs in this country remain a big threat to sexual wellbeing.
'These infections can have a major impact on your health and that of any sexual partners – particularly if they are antibiotic resistant.
'If you've had condomless sex with new or casual partners – either in the UK or overseas – get tested for STIs and HIV at least yearly, even if you don't have symptoms. Regular testing protects both you and those you're having sex with.
'From August, eligible people will also be offered vaccination to reduce the risk of gonorrhoea and we expect to see the immunisation programme have an impact on diagnoses of this infection in coming years – please take up the vaccine if you are offered it.'
Professor Matt Phillips, president of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, said: 'Whilst it is encouraging to see a fall in the total number of STI diagnoses this year, we nonetheless continue to see historically high rates of sexual infection, with particularly worrying continued increases in infections such as syphilis, which are at their highest-ever levels, and the continued spread of antibiotic-resistant disease.
'It is vital that clear steps are put in place to reverse these trends.
He added: 'Sexual health services remain under immense pressure and these new tools risk being deployed into overstretched systems unable to support them effectively.
'We find ourselves at a critical point for securing the long-term viability of sexual health services in this country.
'Only a joined-up, ambitious national strategy can ensure that we are prepared not just for today's sexual health challenges, but for those we know are coming.'
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