A disease which was rampant in Medieval times is on the increase – and our map shows how many cases there have been near where you live. Gonorrhoea is rising in almost every council area in England – as sexual health services face ?unprecedented increases in demand?.
The latest NHS data shows that there were more cases of gonorrhoea in England in 2022 than at any time since records began more than 100 years ago. Cases have been rising over the last few years, before dropping off during the lockdowns and isolation of the pandemic, only to return to a record high of 82,500 cases last year.
That was 50% more than the previous year and 16% higher than before the pandemic in 2019. Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection that has been known to mankind since medieval times. It was referred to as the ?clap? before the actual cause was
Use our map below to check your postcode for the Medieval disease
New analysis by the Local Government Association shows that 97% of council areas have seen an increase in the diagnosis rate of gonorrhoea, with 10 local authorities seeing rates triple.
At the same time demand for sexual health services has continued to grow, with nearly 4.5 million consultations carried out in 2022, up by a third since 2013. In 2022 there were 2.2 million diagnostic tests carried out, a 13 per cent increase from the year before.
David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA?s Community Wellbeing Board, said the Government ?needs to ensure sexual health funding is increased to levels which matches these stark increases?.
He added: ?These statistics show that local sexual health services are grappling with unprecedented increases in demand.
?Councils have been working hard to encourage more people to access sexual health services and get tested more regularly to help improve detection rates and catch infections early.
?Investment in sexual health services helps to prevent longer-term illness and unwanted pregnancies, reducing pressure on our NHS and improving the health of people across our communities.?
Analysis from the LGA found the public health grant to councils has reduced by �880 million, with the organisation calling on the Government to create a 10-year sexual health strategy and to publish the 2024/25 public health grant allocations which will provide an increase in funding.
Dr Claire Dewsnap, president of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, said without ?sufficient investment, sexual health service users will face severe challenges in their ability to access expert, timely care?.
She said: ?This data not only demonstrates the deeply concerning trajectory of STI infection growth but also the need for a robust national strategy, backed up by adequate funding.
?As demand for care increases, without imminent action, we compromise our ability to safeguard the sexual health of our nation.?
The risk of contracting gonorrhoea is around three times higher in London than anywhere else in England, with rates in the capital and the surrounding Greater London at 383 infections per 100,000 people.
The next highest risk is in the North West (133 infections per 100,000 people) and then Yorkshire and the Humber (120). The lowest rates are in the East of England (66).
Figures for council areas show that Lambeth has the biggest problem with gonorrhoea. In 2022 there were 3,875 infections documented, a rate of 1,220 cases for every 100,000 people.
That means the equivalent of one in every 100 people living in the London borough caught gonorrhoea that year, although some cases may relate to individuals contracting the infection multiple times.
Of the top 20 areas with the highest rates, 17 were in London.
Outside the capital, Liverpool had the highest rates of gonorrhoea (317 per 100,000 population), followed by Manchester (312) and Nottingham (308).
The lowest risk of contracting gonorrhoea was in North Norfolk where there were just 21 cases for every 100,000 people.
Symptoms of gonorrhoea, formerly known as ?the clap?, include a thick green or yellow discharge from the vagina or penis, pain when peeing and, in women, bleeding between periods.
It is normally spread by having unprotected sex, or in some cases by sharing sex toys, but it can also be passed from a pregnant woman to her baby.
Without treatment, gonorrhoea can cause permanent blindness in a newborn baby.
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