What would happen if gonorrhea became an untreatable 'super STI'?

If the most commonly used antibiotics could no longer treat gonorrhoea it could cause a spike in hospitalisation, infertility, HIV, and sepsis in the worst case scenario, a sexual health expert has told The Independent.

The World Health Organisation has recently warned that gonorrhoea, also known as "the clap", has developed widespread, high levels of resistance, and may become untreatable with an entire class of antibiotics.

Initially, a person who does not respond to the usual drugs would be given a cocktail of other antibiotics on an intravenous drip in hospital in order to combat the infection, said Professor Claudia Estcourt, member of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV.

The condition would could initially cause severe joint paint and infections in areas including the rectum, throat and eyes. The risk of developing a blood infection known as sepsis would also be heightened due to the open sores.

Described by the NHS as an infection which causes the immune system to go “into overdrive”, sepsis is the second biggest killer in the UK after heart disease.

Rates of HIV would also rise as sores, ulcers and broken skin around the genitals caused by gonorrhoea would enable the virus to enter the body more easily. Men would experience infections in the testes. In women, the STD could spread into the uterus and the fallopian tubes, resulting in a severe infection, abscesses, and pelvic inflamatory disease. Pregnant women, meanwhile, could also spread it to the baby down the birth canal, resulting in a neonatal infection

“Infertility is further down the line,” said Professor Estcourt, explaining that would follow severe pelvic pain as the infection spreads down the reproductive tracts and other parts of the body.

Unlike some STIs, gonorrhoea is not a “silent” disease, she added. "We would have very sick people who we can’t treat or get out of hospital.”

She went on to stress: "It’s not a plague film and people won’t be dropping dead on the streets, but we would see a sharp rise in sick people with medical complications, more and more people requiring hospital admission for treatment, as almost all gonorrhoea is currently successfully treated in sexual health clinics as an out patient service.

“It is very important to retain specialist services with open access sexual clinics so can promptly seek care as quickly as possible with no barriers.”