London’s gonorrhoea rate has doubled in a decade, new figures show, as health authorities warned of a concerning rise in an antibiotic resistant strain of the disease.
Analysis by the Standard found that the diagnostic rate for the sexually transmitted infection (STI) had jumped by 133 per cent from 2013 to 2023 – the highest rate of any region in England.
The figures show that the capital had a gonorrhoea rate of 397 cases per 100,000 people last year, which is more than four times the rate reported in the South East and the South West.
Lambeth has the highest rate of gonorrhoea of any local authority in England, with a case rate of 1,295 per 100,000.
The top ten areas with the highest rates of the disease are all in the capital, with the City of London, Southwark, Hackney and Westminster making up the five worst affected local authorities.
Nationally, a total of 85,223 cases of gonorrhoea were diagnosed in 2023.
Separate figures show that the rate of syphilis in the capital has also more than doubled during a ten-year period, suggesting that an overall rise in STI transmission pre-dates the Covid pandemic, which hampered testing efforts.
On Thursday, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) warned that 15 cases of ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhoea were detected in England between June 2022 and May 2024, including 5 that were found to be extensively drug-resistant.
Ceftriaxone is the “first line” antibiotic used to treat gonorrhoea in the UK.
All detected cases have been among heterosexual individuals, mostly in their 20s, and most acquired the infection abroad, the UKHSA said.
The World Health Organisation has warned that antibiotic resistant illnesses could increase the risk of disease spread, severe illness, disability and death.
Dr Helen Fifer, Consultant Microbiologist at the UKHSA, said: “Gonorrhoea is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, risking the possibility of it becoming untreatable in the future. 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.”
Professor Matt Phillips, President of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, called for “immediate action” to reduce the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections.
“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."
