When something is referred to as “super,” it’s usually better (i.e. super man, super size, super tasty, etc). But according to the World Health Organization, there’s a “super” strain of a sexually transmitted infection that we need to be concerned about.
Health officials have issued a warning over a “concerning jump” in cases of gonorrhea that are resistant to strong antibiotics.
New data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reveals that the number of cases of the sexually transmitted infection (STI) gonorrhea, which are resistant to the antibiotic ceftriaxone, has already surpassed the total number of cases recorded in the previous year.
While overall gonorrhea cases in England saw a 16 per cent decrease in 2024, with 71,802 diagnoses compared to 85,370 in 2023, the rise in antibiotic-resistant strains remains a significant concern for health authorities.
The first case of antibiotic-resistant or “super” gonorrhea was reported in March 2018 and has continued into 2019. It is reported that a man caught the infection in Southeast Asia while traveling, Public Health England reports.
The man’s infection was described to be “very resistant to the recommended first-line treatment,” by Dr. Gwenda Hughes, head of the sexually transmitted infection section at Public Health England.” The drug-resistant nature of gonorrhea has been a growing concern for some time, but this new case is especially alarming. According to Dr. Hughes, “This is the first time a case has displayed such high-level resistance to both of these drugs and to most other commonly used antibiotics.”
But now there are more cases popping up.
Two U.K. women in the last 3 months have been diagnosed with extensively drug-resistant (XDR) gonorrhea — the so-called super gonorrhea.
Public Health England (PHE) says one case was acquired in the U.K., and the other in Europe, with possible connections to what’s been called a “party destination.”
Both women were heterosexual, and their infections were similar in resistance to the first-line antibiotics ceftriaxone and azithromycin.
Similar cases are rare for the U.K. but have been reported in other countries.
According to the CDC, gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacterium. It infects the warm, moist areas of the body, including the reproductive organs, mouth, throat, eyes, and rectum.
Gonorrhea may not cause symptoms in some people but can still result in serious health complications without treatment. When symptoms occur, they may present differently in females and males.
Symptoms in women can include:
Symptoms in men can include:
A rectal gonorrhea infection may cause:
Gonorrhea is spread through unprotected sexual contact with the penis, vagina, mouth, or anus of an infected person. Gonorrhea can also be spread from mother to baby during childbirth.
Note: Ejaculation does not have to occur to spread gonorrhea.
So how do you avoid contracting this “super” gonorrhea? The best way to avoid “super” gonorrhea is to practice safe sex. With the emergence of this super gonorrhea, it is critical that individuals protect themselves more so than ever.
READ: WARNING: Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Chlamydia Are Becoming Untreatable
Symptoms usually occur within two to 14 days after exposure. However, many people never develop noticeable symptoms.
If a person does develop symptoms, they may include:
Symptoms should resolve within 2 weeks of treatment. If your symptoms persist, or your follow-up test determines you still have gonorrhea despite treatment, you need to return to your doctor for further treatment.
A doctor will try to determine whether a person has a reinfection after treatment or if the treatment was truly ineffective. If reinfection has occurred, a doctor may repeat treatment with ceftriaxone.
If treatment with ceftriaxone does not work, a doctor may repeat the treatment or consider treatment with other antibiotic drugs, such as gentamicin and azithromycin.
Doctors should follow their health department’s protocol for reporting cases of gonorrhea treatment failure. This includes reporting to the CDC.
The most reliable way to prevent the transmission of gonorrhea or other STIs is to abstain from sex. If you are sexually active, always use a condom when you engage in vaginal, oral, or anal sexual intercourse, communicate with your sexual partners, and get regular STI screenings.
Stacy Grundy, MPH, CHES is a Certified Health Education Specialist and has a B.S. in Human Nutrition from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master’s of Public Health in Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences from the University of Texas School of Public Health. As a public health professional, her primary focus is the elimination of health disparities through policy, systems, and environmental changes.
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