Gonorrhoea could become 'untreatable' as drug-resistant STI cases rise, officials warn

Health officials have warned that gonorrhoea could become "untreatable" as drug-resistant cases rise in England, and sexually transmitted infections reach their highest level since records began in 1918.

In 2023, England recorded 85,223 cases of gonorrhoea and health officials have also found an increase in treatment-resistant gonorrhoea.

While the infection is usually easy to treat, some strains are resistant to commonly used antibiotics and are harder to treat.

Gonorrhoea is typically treated with the antibiotic ceftriaxone, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said, but recent data shows an increase in infections that resist this drug.

Only nine cases of ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhoea were reported in England between 2015 and the end of 2021.

This increased to 15 cases in England between June 2022 and May 2024, including five "extensively drug-resistant" cases that did not respond to first - or second-line treatments, nor to other antibiotics.

All the drug-resistant cases were found in heterosexual people, mostly in their 20s, with most infections caught abroad, according to the paper.

Dr Helen Fifer, consultant microbiologist at UKHSA, warned that gonorrhoea is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, raising the risk of it becoming "untreatable".

“Gonorrhoea is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, risking the possibility of it becoming untreatable in the future," she said.

“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.”

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Professor Matt Phillips, president of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH), described the rise in antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea as a "worrying trend" that requires immediate action.

He 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."

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