Overview

• UKHSA figures show 14 ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhoea cases reported by May 2025, exceeding the 13 recorded in all of 2024.
• Six of this year’s cases are classified as extensively drug-resistant, failing to respond to both frontline and second-line antibiotics.
• Most drug-resistant infections are linked to travel to or from the Asia-Pacific region, where ceftriaxone resistance is widespread.
• Syphilis diagnoses climbed 1.7% in early-stage cases and 5% overall in 2024, reaching 13,030 infections and marking the highest levels since the late 1940s.
• Chlamydia cases fell 13% to 168,889 in 2024 even as sexual health clinics report record demand and urge increased funding to maintain timely testing and treatment.