Doctors’ safe sex alert after ‘superbug’ cases

DOCTORS have issued a safe sex warning after new cases of so-called “super gonorrhoea” were detected.

Early cases of the highly drug resistant strain were detected in Macclesfield and Oldham, having first been seen by doctors in Leeds.

But the superbug STI is now said to be spreading across the country, with experts warning it could soon become untreatable.

According to Public Health England (PHE), this new strain of gonorrhoea is “highly resistant” to the antibiotic usually used to clear it up, meaning medics are relying on a second drug to treat it.

But if the strain builds up further resistance to this drug, there are fears it may become untreatable as there are no other effective medications to tackle it.

If untreated, gonorrhoea can result in severe complications and lead to infertility or septicaemia in rare cases.

Dr Gwenda Hughes, head of PHE’s Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) section, said: “It would be far better to avoid getting or passing on gonorrhoea in the first place. Everyone can significantly reduce their risk by using condoms with all new and casual partners.

“Fortunately, the current outbreak strain can still be treated with ceftriaxone.

“Nonetheless, we know that the bacterium that causes gonorrhoea can rapidly develop resistance to other antibiotics that are used for treatment, so we cannot afford to be complacent.

“If strains of gonorrhoea emerge that are resistant to both azithromycin and ceftriaxone treatment options would be limited as there is currently no new antibiotic available to treat the infection.”

The British Association for Sexual Health and HIV issued an alert to clinicians urging them to follow up cases of high-level drug-resistant gonorrhoea and trace their sexual partners.