#gonorrhoea

#gonorrhoea

Gonorrhoea is on the rise around the world, with more than 82m infections globally each year and particularly high rates in Africa and countries in the World Health Organization's Western Pacific region, which reaches from Mongolia and China to New Zealand. Cases in England are at a record high, and rates in Europe were three times higher in 2023 than in 2014. Health officials are concerned about an increase in drug-resistant strains of the bacterium, with the WHO designating it a priority pathogen.

The two compounds still need years of refinement and clinical trials before they could be prescribed.

To combat the steep rise in gonorrhoea cases, a new vaccine could shift the focus of the UK’s sexual health services from treatment to prevention.