Syphilis and drug resistant gonorrhoea cases on the increase

New circumstances of the sexually transmitted an infection syphilis have risen once more in England, persevering with a pattern courting again to the early 2000s.

Whereas the general variety of folks identified with gonorrhoea has fallen, there was a big enhance within the variety of circumstances the place the an infection is drug resistant, new UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data exhibits.

Well being consultants say this can be a actual concern, though the precise variety of drug-resistant circumstances stays very low.

The NHS lately introduced the rollout of the world’s first vaccine programme to guard in opposition to gonorrhoea, aimed principally at homosexual and bisexual males.

General, there have been 9,535 diagnoses of what’s described as early-stage syphilis in England in 2024, up 2% on 2023.

However the general determine for syphilis, together with what is named late-stage syphilis, or problems from the an infection, rose 5% to 13,030.

The figures for gonorrhoea present a extra difficult image.

General, 2024 noticed a 16% fall in gonorrhoea circumstances, with 71,802 diagnoses in comparison with 85,370 in 2023, with the best fall amongst 15- to 24-year-olds.

Giulia Habib Meriggi, a surveillance and prevention scientist for sexually transmitted infections at UKHSA, urged warning over the decline.

“That is the primary yr within the final couple of years the place [the numbers] have really gone down,” she stated.

“It is nonetheless the third highest variety of circumstances we have had in a yr in recorded historical past, so it’s form of excellent news nevertheless it does not imply it can keep that method.

“It’s clearly actually essential for folks to nonetheless get examined recurrently and use condoms with new companions.”

In contrast, there was an acceleration in diagnoses of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea.

Some strains of the micro organism which causes the illness not reply to the first-line therapy, the antibiotic ceftriaxone.

The numbers themselves stay low, with 14 circumstances reported within the first 5 months of 2025, in contrast with 13 circumstances for the entire of 2024.

However six of these 14 circumstances to this point this yr have been extensively drug-resistant, which means they had been resistant not simply to ceftriaxone but in addition to second-line therapy choices.

Many of the ceftriaxone resistant circumstances had been linked with journey to or from the Asia-Pacific area, the place ranges of ceftriaxone resistance are excessive.

UKHSA scientist Prarthana Narayanan describes the pattern as “worrying”.

“The numbers are nonetheless small however the purpose that is worrying is as a result of, as soon as resistance in gonorrhoea turns into endemic, then it turns into extraordinarily laborious to deal with, as a result of ceftriaxone is the final first-line remedy now we have for it.

“We need to guarantee that the unfold of resistant strains is lowered as a lot as potential to try to extend how lengthy we are able to use ceftriaxone to deal with it for,” she stated.

• Syphilis can current as small sores or ulcers on and across the genitals, in addition to white or gray warty growths
• Sores in different areas, together with in your mouth or in your lips, fingers or backside
• A rash on the palms of your fingers and soles of your toes that may generally unfold throughout your physique
• White patches in your mouth
• Flu-like signs, equivalent to a excessive temperature, complications, tiredness and swollen glands
• Patchy hair loss on the top, beard and eyebrows
• Gonorrhoea may cause fluid or discharge from the penis or vagina
• A burning ache if you urinate
• Ache within the decrease stomach (for ladies) or sore testicles

Numbers of sexually transmitted infections stay excessive, warns UKHSA, with the affect felt felt primarily in 15- to 24-year-olds, homosexual and bisexual males and a few minority ethnic teams.

However the enhance in drug resistant circumstances of gonorrhoea is an actual concern, amid wider worries across the development in antimicrobial resistance.

The World Well being Organisation describes antimicrobial resistance as a difficulty of worldwide concern and one of many greatest threats to world well being.

It threatens our means to deal with widespread infections and to carry out life-saving procedures, together with chemotherapy for most cancers, caesarean sections, hip replacements, organ transplants and different operations.

This is the reason, though solely 14 circumstances of drug-resistant gonorrhoea had been recognized this yr, well being consultants urge anybody having intercourse with new or informal companions to make use of a condom and get examined recurrently, no matter their age or sexual orientation.