NHS offers world-first vaccine to combat rise in super strain STI
A new vaccine for gonorrhoea is to be rolled out by the NHS in England to tackle a rise in antibiotic-resistant 'super' strains.
The jabs will be available for gay and bi-sexual men, who are most at risk of becoming infected, while other high-risk people, such as sex workers can request it.
Cases of gonorrhoea, which are either resistant or 'extensively' resistant, have increased in the UK in the past three years to a record high in 2024.
The UK Health Security Agency said the rise had been fuelled by heterosexuals who had caught the infection abroad.
It comes amid a wider surge in diagnoses of gonorrhoea in England, with 85,000 cases in 2023 – the highest since records began in 1918.
Cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in general have been increasing across England with 400,000 new diagnoses in England in 2023 - an increase of almost 5 per cent on the year before.
While testing rates have increased, Dr Emma Harding-Esch, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, suggested the increased popularity of dating apps could have contributed to the rise as they enable people to find sexual partners more easily.
Dr Harding-Esch also said changes in public sexual behaviour, such as the use of recreational drugs during sex or not using contraception with multiple partners could also have contributed.
Gonorrhoea is a sexually transmitted infection passed on through unprotected sex and, if not treated, can lead to problems such as infections in the eyes, testicles or prostate.
Not all patients experience symptoms, however, they include burning pain when you pee, fluid or discharge from the genitals, and pain in the testicles or lower abdomen.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation first made a recommendation to roll out the gonorrhoea vaccine, alongside the mpox vaccine in November 2023. However, it needed approval from NHS England first and will now be available from August.
According to NHS England, no other health system has yet rolled out these vaccines nationally.
Earlier this year, new research revealed that scientists have found the first new antibiotic for gonorrhoea since the 1990s, as researchers warned the STI could soon become 'impossible to treat'.
Minister for Public Health and Prevention Ashley Dalton said: "This world-first vaccine programme represents a significant breakthrough for public health, and once again our NHS is leading the way.
"It could not come at a more critical time - after years of neglect of public health services, we inherited gonorrhoea diagnoses at record levels, triple what they were in 2012. By targeting those most at risk, we can reduce transmission rates from this unpleasant disease that is becoming harder to treat and prevent thousands of cases over the next few years.'
Local authorities and NHS sexual health services will identify eligible patients and actively invite them for the vaccine. Patients will also be able to get mpox, Hepatitis A and B and HPV vaccinations at the same time.
The jab, which is one already used for meningococcal B disease called 4CMenB, could give people up to 40 per cent protection from gonorrhoea.
Cllr David Fothergill, chairman of the Local Government Association's Community Wellbeing Board, said: 'The targeted roll-out of the vaccine, which could be a game-changer and dramatically reduce transmission of gonorrhoea, is good news. Sexual health clinics are on the front line of the STI outbreaks. It is vital that we have a strong and well-funded health protection system to support the vaccine rollout.
"It is important that eligible people across England are able to access vaccines easily, when the vaccine becomes available, please come forward and get protected.'
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