Doctors are told to stay alert as cases of gonorrhoea and syphilis reach record highs

Gonorrhoea diagnoses increased by 50% between 2021 and 2022—from 54 961 to 82 592, the highest number since records began in 1918, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has warned.1 Cases of infectious syphilis diagnoses also increased to 8692 in 2022, up 15.2% from 2021 (7543) and the highest number since 1948.UKHSA said that some of the increase in sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnoses will be because of more testing, which rose by 13% last year. It said that the scale of the growth “strongly suggests,” however, that transmission has also increased.The data show that people aged 15 to 24 remain the most likely to be diagnosed with an STI, with over 400 diagnoses every day last year among young people.Hamish Mohammed, consultant epidemiologist in the STI section at UKHSA, said, “We are alerting healthcare professionals, whatever your speciality, to be aware that syphilis remains a concern and diagnosis rates…
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