What should you know about super gonorrhoea?

Resistance means some medicines may no longer stop the bacteria effectively. It does not create a separate set of reliable symptoms: discharge, pain when urinating, pelvic pain, rectal discomfort or a sore throat may occur, while many infections cause no noticeable symptoms. A person’s symptoms cannot identify the medicine that will work. Untreated gonorrhoea can pass between partners and may lead to pelvic inflammatory disease or infection in less common sites.

Book an STI screening appointment after a possible exposure or if a partner has been diagnosed. Explain whether there was vaginal, anal or oral sex so samples are taken from the relevant sites. A clinician may use laboratory results and your treatment history to choose an antibiotic. Avoid sex until the clinic confirms the infection has been managed and partners have been assessed. Do not use antibiotics bought without advice, because an unsuitable medicine can delay effective care.

Get urgent care for severe lower abdominal pain, fever with pelvic symptoms, testicular swelling, eye pain or visual change, joint pain with a rash, or trouble breathing. These signs need prompt examination. Contact your clinician if discharge or pain persists after treatment, if symptoms return, or if a partner is diagnosed after your treatment.

Ask how resistance is being assessed, which sites need samples, whether a follow-up test is appropriate, when sexual contact can resume, and how partners should be notified and tested.