Cases of sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea are spreading in Cornwall

A record number of people were diagnosed with gonorrhea in Cornwall last year – as doctors warn sexual health services are at a “tipping point” amid funding cuts and rising demand. There were more cases of this ancient sexually transmitted infection in England last year than at any time since records began more than 100 years ago, according to the latest NHS figures.
Gonorrhea infections — referenced in the Bible and early Greek and Roman writing — rose 7.5 percent nationally. This meant an increase from around 79,000 diagnoses in 2022 to 85,000 in 2023.
In Cornwall, there were 313 diagnoses in 2023, an 8% increase on 289 the previous year. But they are more than five times more than in 2012 (60), when regional records began.

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Cases spiked over the past decade, before falling during pandemic lockdowns and lockdowns, only to return to record levels. Nationally, gonorrhea diagnoses are now three times what they were in 2012.
At the same time, the infection rate – used to measure the risk of contracting a disease – tripled from 50.3 infections per 100,000 inhabitants in 2012 to 149 per 100,000 people last year. This is the equivalent of around one in 670 people in England being diagnosed with gonorrhea. But in some parts of the country, the risk is much greater.

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The threat is relatively low in Cornwall compared to some parts of the country. There were 54 infections per 100,000 people in Cornwall last year. That’s the equivalent of about one in 1,846 people getting gonorrhea.
This compares with 1,295 infections per 100,000 in Lambeth, London, where the risk was the highest in England, or the equivalent of about one person in 77.

You can see the cases and rate of gonorrhea in Cornwall and how this has changed over the last decade, and compare with other areas, using our interactive map.

It comes as the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) warns that sexual health services are facing increasing demands for care “against a challenging backdrop of funding cuts and workforce pressures”.
The number of consultations provided by sexual health services in England reached a record 4.61 million in 2023, a 5% increase on the previous year and a 44% increase on 2019, the earliest year records are available.
BASHH has now called on the “next government” to implement a national sexual health strategy to address the challenges and deliver “high-quality care that meets growing and changing demand and ends health inequalities”.
BASHH President Professor Matt Phillips said: “We are at a critical juncture for ensuring the viability of sexual health services. The troubling trajectory of new STI diagnoses is a sign of increased unmet needs for those in need of sexual health care, particularly those in underserved communities and those who may prefer face-to-face services, and underscores the need for a long-awaited and much needed service. expected. -necessary strategy for sexual health.
“From recruitment challenges to public health funding to ensuring the right experts support each clinic, the next government has an opportunity to turn the tide and address these barriers to ensure everyone has timely access to expertise for to support good sexual health and well-being.”
Gonorrhea can be traced back to biblical times and mentions of this sexually transmitted infection can be found in the earliest records of the human race.
The disease is believed to be mentioned several times in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament Book of Leviticus, which warns: “The man who has a heap of seeds will be unclean.”
Romans, Jews, and Arabs all have documents that refer to gonorrhea, and each society had its own description of symptoms and treatment.
It was recorded that Pasiphae, the wife of King Minos of Crete, used the bladder of a goat as a condom because the king’s semen was said to contain “scorpions and serpents” that killed his mistresses.
The name of the disease is almost as old as its descriptions. It is believed to have been invented by the Roman physician Galen around 130 AD. who described gonorrhea as an “involuntary escape of sperm”.

Symptoms of gonorrhea, formerly known as “palm,” include a thick green or yellow discharge from the vagina or penis, painful urination, and, in women, bleeding between periods.
It is normally spread through unprotected sex or, in some cases, sharing sex toys, but it can also be passed from a pregnant woman to her baby.
If left untreated, complications can include pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, and infertility in women; and swelling of the scrotum, urethral stricture – which can make urination painful and can lead to infections – and infertility in men.
Without treatment, gonorrhea can cause permanent blindness.

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