Health officials baffled by drug-resistant super-gonorrhoea case

Health officials in the United Kingdom are encouraging the public to engage in safe sex, after a man contracted an intense case of gonorrhoea following a sexual encounter with a woman.

Dubbed “super-gonorrhoea” by the press in England, the sexually transmitted infection has left the man incurable of his severe symptoms. According to Public Health England, the man has developed a case of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which isn’t responding to any treatment. It’s said to be the first case of the STI that hasn’t been cured from the drugs and antibiotics that usually work, leaving medical experts baffled and worried.

Public Health England said several different measures had been used on the man, but that the STI had shown high-level resistance to all treatments so far.

Dr Gwenda Hughes, Consultant Scientist and Head of Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Section at Public Health England said the case was particularly worrying.

“We are investigating a case who has gonorrhoea which was acquired abroad and is very resistant to the recommended first line treatment,” she said in a statement. “First line treatment for gonorrhoea is a combination of 2 antibiotics (azithromycin and ceftriaxone). This is the first time a case has displayed such high-level resistance to both of these drugs and to most other commonly used antibiotics.”

It is believed the man had sex with two women shortly before contracting the STI – one in the United Kingdom and one from South-east Asia. The British woman has been tested and cleared, so it is believed he contracted the infection in Asia.

Read more: Ensure your sex life is enjoyable in your 60s and beyond

Public Health England said it was doing everything it could to stop the disease from spreading further.

“We are following up this case to ensure that the infection was effectively treated with other options and the risk of any onward transmission is minimised,” Dr Hughes said. “PHE actively monitors, and acts on, the spread of antibiotic resistance in gonorrhoea and potential treatment failures, and has introduced enhanced surveillance to identify and manage resistant strains of infection promptly to help reduce further spread.”

As a precaution, the UK government is trying to track down any other sexual partners of the man to ensure the infection hasn’t spread further. They are also encouraging people to use condoms when having sex.

“It is better to avoid getting or passing on gonorrhoea in the first place and everyone can significantly reduce their risk by using condoms consistently and correctly with all new and casual partners,” Dr Hughes added. “Anyone who thinks they may have been at risk should seek an STI screen at a sexual health clinic.”

Gonorrhoea is one of the most infectious sexually transmitted infections and can easily be passed on from unprotected vaginal, anal and oral intercourse. It can also be passed from person to person by direct contact with the genitals. Symptoms commonly include a smelly green or yellow discharge from the penis or vagina. It can also result in bleeding from the genitals and cause pelvic inflammatory disease and ectopic pregnancy and infertility in younger women. 

The best thing to do is to visit a GP or sexual health clinic regularly to ensure you haven’t picked up Gonorrhoea or other STIs.

What do you think? Are you concerned that there are viruses infecting people that aren’t responding to treatment?