Nu är gonorré snart obotligt

Gonorrhoea can infect the genitals, rectum and throat, but it is the last that is most concerning health officials.

Dr Wi said antibiotics could lead to bacteria in the back of the throat, including relatives of gonorrhoea, developing resistance.

She said: "When you use antibiotics to treat infections like a normal sore throat, this mixes with the Neisseria species in your throat and this results in resistance."

Thrusting gonorrhoea bacteria into this environment through oral sex can lead to super-gonorrhoea.

"In the US, resistance [to an antibiotic] came from men having sex with men because of pharyngeal infection," she added.

A decline in condom use, which had soared because of fears of HIV/Aids, is thought to help the infection spread.

A man in the UK has caught the world's "worst-ever" case of super-gonorrhoea.

He had a regular partner in the UK, but picked up the superbug after a sexual encounter with a woman in South East Asia.

Public Health England says it is the first time the infection cannot be cured with first choice antibiotics.

Health officials are now tracing any other sexual partners of the man, who has not been identified, in an attempt to contain the infection's spread.

He picked up the infection earlier in the year.

Health officials are warning of the first case of super-gonorrhoea which has been found to be acquired in the UK.

The case involving a heterosexual woman, follows growing concern about the rise of drug-resistant sexually transmitted diseases across the world.

Last year officials warned that a Briton had contracted the “world’s worst ever” case of super-gonorrhoea.

The case occurred after the man had a sexual encounter with a woman in south-east Asia.

But the latest case was acquired in the UK.

Antalet fall av gonorré under årets första sex månader är rekordhögt, rapporterar Norra Skåne.

Redan nu är antalet fall de högsta på 25 år.

– Prognosen pekar på 16 gånger fler fall. Det är mer än 30 år sedan vi hade motsvarande antal fall av gonorré som i år, säger Ola Josefsson på Hälsofakta, som tagit fram statistik från Folkhälsomyndigheten.

Men smittspridningen skiljer sig stort mellan olika delar av landet. Region Stockholm står för 60 procent av alla inrapporterade fall i år.

På andra plats kommer Region Skåne med 13 procent av fallen.

Gonorré orsakas av en bakterie smittar genom sexuell kontakt via slemhinnor. Sjukdomen behandlas med antibiotika, kondom skyddar mot att smittas.