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A strain of gonorrhoea – described as super-gonorrhoea – which is resistant to antibiotics has been identified in England.
Three new cases of Neisseria gonorrhoea have been confirmed by the UK Health Security Agency, bringing the total to four in recent months, after the first case was discovered at the end of last year.
A woman in her 20s in London and a heterosexual couple also in their 20s in the Midlands have recently been diagnosed with the STI.
This particular form of gonorrhoea is resistant to the antibiotic ceftriaxone, the Daily Mirror reports.
Ceftriaxone is the main antibiotic used to treat gonorrhoea in the UK and being infected with a ceftriaxone resistant strain means that this antibiotic will not easily treat the infection.
Results from follow-up tests are still awaited to see if treatment has been successful in these three recent cases.
Further public health investigations are underway, but there are currently no known links between the cases in London and the Midlands.
Dr Katy Sinka, STI Section Head at UKHSA, said: “After a couple of years without any cases of this hard to treat form of gonorrhoea, we have now seen four cases in the last two months.
"It’s too soon to say whether this will be the start of a longer-term trend, but we do know that STIs are on the rise in general.
"Getting an STI isn’t as simple as taking some medicine and moving on with your life – if not properly treated they can have long term impacts on your and your partner’s health.
"Adding antibiotic resistance into the mix makes the impact on your life even greater.
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“There are simple steps you can take to reduce your risk of gonorrhoea and other STIs.
"Use condoms consistently and correctly with all new or casual partners, test regularly for STIs and if you have any symptoms such as unusual discharge, don’t have sex until you are tested.”
Typical symptoms of gonorrhoea include a thick green or yellow discharge from the vagina or penis, pain when urinating, pain and discomfort in the rectum, as well as lower abdominal pain and bleeding between periods.
However, often people infected with gonorrhoea will have no symptoms especially for infections in the throat, vagina or rectum.
Treating gonorrhoea as soon as possible is very important as it can lead to serious long-term health problems.
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