Gonorrhoea cases reach a 40 YEAR high in England

Gonorrhoea cases are the highest they have been in 40 years and rose by more than a quarter in a single year, official figures revealed today.

More people were diagnosed with the sexually transmitted infection last year than at any point since 1978, according to Public Health England.

Five per cent more STIs were diagnosed in total in England in 2018 than in 2017 and the Government has warned people to start using condoms properly.

Chlamydia and syphilis are also the most common they’ve been in at least a decade and thousands of people are being infected every year.

Experts have warned there could be ‘devastating consequences’ if STIs continue to rise, which has been partly blamed on funding cuts to sexual health clinics and online dating apps.

Figures released by Public Health England today showed there were 447,694 STI diagnoses last year.

These include the bacterial infections mentioned above as well as genital herpes, genital warts, non-specific genital infections and pelvic inflammatory disease.

The biggest one-year rise was a 26 per cent spike in people testing positive for gonorrhoea – up from 44,812 to 56,259. More than 40,000 of the cases were men.

Gonorrhoea is a particular cause for concern among experts because the bacteria are evolving to become resistant to antibiotics.

‘The continuing escalation in gonorrhoea and syphilis diagnoses must be addressed as an urgent health priority,’ said Dr Olwen Williams, president of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV.

‘Otherwise there is the potential for devastating consequences to the wellbeing of the wider population and the health system as a whole.’

As well as gonorrhoea, syphilis – a disease often associated with Victorian times and the damage it could do before antibiotics were invented – is on the rise.

Cases of the bacterial infection have more than doubled since 2009 from 2,847 to 7,541, PHE’s data revealed.

And chlamydia, which is consistently the most common STI in England, rose by two per cent between 2017 and 2018 to 218,095 cases – 49 per cent of the total.

Dr Gwenda Hughes, the head of STI surveillance at PHE, called the rise in these infections ‘concerning’.

She said: ‘STIs can pose serious consequences to health – both your own and that of current and future sexual partners.

‘No matter what age you are, or what type of relationship you are in, it’s important to look after your sexual health.

‘If you have sex with a new or casual partner, make sure you use condoms and get regularly tested.’

Regular reports are released showing the rising figures and experts have blamed increasing infections on budget cuts and online dating apps.

Apps such as Tinder, Grindr and Bumble make it relatively easy for people to meet new sexual partners, meet them quickly and move onto someone else.

This could increase the risk of catching STIs by allowing a quick turnover of partners and make people less likely to contact past partners if they’re diagnosed. 

BASHH’s Dr Williams said last year: ‘The frequency of app hook-ups and dating apps used as a sort of medium to access sexual activity seems to have increased significantly.’

In response to today’s figures Dr Williams said cuts to the funding sexual health clinics receive is also contributing to rising infections.

Clinics dealing with restricted budgets have to limit their opening hours and, therefore, the number of patients they see.

This leaves some unable to get tested or treated when they need it, leaving them at risk of infecting others while they wait for an appointment with a doctor.