Warning on sex disease that could outwit all treatments

GONORRHOEA IS EVOLVING, SAY MEDICS - AND CASES ARE RISING

- By TOM MACK

GONORRHOEA could become untreatable as it becomes resistant to antibiotics, health officials have warned, amid rising cases of the sexually transmitted infection (STI) in Leicestershire.

There were 1,243 diagnoses of gonorrhoea in Leicestershire in 2023, the latest figures available.

This is a 15 per cent increase from 1,077 the previous year and treble the 404 cases in 2012, when regional records began.

Gonorrhoea can cause infertility in both men and women, as well as blindness.

TYPICAL symptoms of gonorrhoea include a thick green or yellow discharge from the vagina or penis, pain when urinating and, in women, bleeding between periods.

It is normally spread by having unprotected sex or, in some cases, by sharing sex toys, but it can also be passed from a pregnant woman to her baby.

While most infections can be effectively treated, certain resistant strains, particularly ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhoea, present a much greater challenge as the disease evolves to be immune to antibiotics.