Gonorrhoea: rising cases and antimicrobial resistance
Novel interventions are needed to tackle a public health crisis Annually, there are more than 82 million cases of gonorrhoea worldwide.1 In 2023, England recorded more than 85 000 gonorrhoea diagnoses—the highest annual incidence since records began in 1918 and a threefold increase since 2012.2 This dramatic rise in case numbers is not limited to the UK: in Europe notification rates increased by more than 300% between 2014 and 2023,3 and cases reported in Australia have doubled in the past decade.4 Men who have sex with men are at high risk for gonorrhoea infection, but cases are also rising in heterosexual individuals, with some European countries reporting >70% increases in cases in young heterosexual women aged 20-24 years.35 While increased testing may contribute to higher case numbers, the rising incidence indicates a public health crisis, confirmed in high income countries and likely also present in low- and middle income countries, where gaps in surveillance data may mask the tr
