Syphilis and gonorrhoea on the rise

The number people diagnosed with syphilis and gonorrhoea in the UK has gone up by a fifth over the past year, in a worrying sign that some sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are on the rise.

New data shows a 20% increase in cases of syphilis and a 22% increase in gonorrhoea, compared with 2016.

The rise in syphilis follows a ten-year trend, with three-quarters of new diagnoses in gay and bisexual men.

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In a report Public Health England said the impact of STIs remains greatest in young people aged 15 to 24, especially among gay men and among black and minority ethnic populations.

While the exact causes of the spike in cases is unknown, the BBC says STI testing in contraceptive clinics has fallen by 61% since 2015, “which experts say may indicate a squeeze on resources”. However, the decline may also reflect a rise in the use of home testing kits - and the availability of testing in other settings, it says.

Debbie Laycock, from the Terrence Higgins Trust, told the BBC: “Our sexual health services are stretched too thinly and demand outweighs availability, with more cuts already planned”.

"The significant rise in both syphilis and gonorrhoea shows why further cuts are completely unacceptable and would be extremely damaging, particularly given the emergence of a new extensively drug-resistant strain of gonorrhoea.”

However, while there is alarm that some sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise, a look at the overall figures reveal diagnoses of STIs in England remained stable in 2017 compared to 2016.

Chlamydia remains the most common STI, accounting for just under half of the 420,000 cases diagnosed in 2017.