Gonorrhea

2024: The incidence of gonorrhea in Russia has decreased to 9.7 thousand cases in 10 years

Over a 10-year period, from 2015 to 2024, the incidence of gonorrhea Russia decreased from 27.1 thousand to 9.7 thousand. This is evidenced by data on infection with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) from the collection " Rosstat Healthcare in Russia." The information was released in February 2026.

Since more recent data are not presented in the collection, Kommersant analyzed the information until 2024 inclusive. According to official statistics, the incidence of gonorrhea in Russia demonstrates a steady downward trend. During the specified period, the indicator decreased by 64%. Similar positive dynamics is observed for other classic STIs. The incidence of trichomoniasis decreased by 69%, chlamydial infections - by 58%, HIV - by more than 50%.

Vadim Pokrovsky, head of the specialized research department for AIDS prevention and control at the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Research Institute of Epidemiology" of Rospotrebnadzor, believes that the incidence of STIs largely depends on the quality of accounting.

According to the expert, in the late 2010s - early 2020s, many commercial clinics that were not part of the state health care system did not provide data on the detected cases. Tightening registration requirements in recent years, according to the expert, could lead to an apparent increase in numbers due to improved accounting, but statistics continue to decline.

Kirill Barsky, director of the Steps charitable foundation, linked the general decrease in the incidence of bacterial infections, including gonorrhea, with the fact that people have learned to use antiseptic agents more widely after sexual contact. At the same time, he drew attention to potential risks: rising prices for condoms and a decrease in their sales call into question the possibility of maintaining the achieved epidemiological indicators at a stable level in the future.

Vadim Pokrovsky stressed the need to intensify preventive work. According to him, the information background on the topic of STIs in the media has practically disappeared, and people have ceased to be regularly reminded of ways to protect themselves, which requires attention and caution from everyone.^[1]

2023

The number of gonorrhea patients in Britain has tripled to 85 thousand people

In Britain, the number of gonorrhea patients is growing rapidly. In the period from 2012 to 2023, their number increased by about three times, reaching 85 thousand people. This is stated in the materials of the National Health Service of the country (NHS), published on May 21, 2025.

Gonorrhea is a preventable and treatable sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Gonorrhea's antimicrobial resistance is growing rapidly and there are fewer treatment options, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Most cases of gonorrhea can be prevented by regular and proper use of condoms. In the absence of therapy, the infection can cause serious health problems, including infertility and severe neonatal eye infections. Such complications result in significant financial costs for both individuals and health systems.

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Фото: Freepik

Gonorrhea is the second most common sexually transmitted infection in Britain, the NHS notes. With the aim of reducing the spread of the disease, the NHS plans to launch the world's first gonorrhea vaccination programme. For this, the drug 4CMenB will be used to prevent type B meningitis, which reduces the risk of gonorrhea infection by 40%. From August 2025, patients from risk groups will begin to receive the vaccine. They will also be offered vaccination against monkey smallpox, hepatitis A and B and human papillomavirus (HPV).

According to estimates by Imperial College London, the vaccination program can prevent up to 100,000 cases of gonorrhea and save the National Health Service more than £7.9 million (approximately $10.7 million at the rate of May 27, 2025) within ten years.^[2]

Highly drug-resistant gonorrhea strain first found in US

In the US, a strain of [1] gonorrhea with high drug resistance was first detected, raising concerns among public health officials about a shortage of treatments and the future when gonorrhea may become untreatable.

Gonorrhea is the second most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the U.S. after chlamydia, and its incidence has skyrocketed in recent years, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported in January 2023.

"There's nothing we threw into gonorrhea that it doesn't develop resistance to," says Supriya Mehta, an epidemiologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "The speed of its evolution exceeds the speed of developing new drugs."

Antibiotic resistance of bacteria and fungi is a global public health challenge. Multidrug-resistant pathogens, or "superbags," could kill more than 10 million people annually by 2050 unless new antibiotics are developed, the WHO said.

2022: WHO: Over the year, 8 million people have been infected with syphilis and gonorrhea in the world, 230 thousand have died

The incidence of sexually transmitted infections is growing in the world. Every day syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and trichomoniasis cause more than 1 million cases of infection. This is stated in the report of the World Health Organization, published on May 21, 2024. Read more here.

1948: US scientists deliberately infect syphilis and gonorrhea of Guatemalan citizens

In 2010, the president USA Barack Obama deeply apologized over the phone Guatemala syphilis to the president for the fact that in the 1940s, American scientists deliberately infected Guatemalan prisoners, mentally ill and military personnel with gonorrhea in order to study ways to treat sexually transmitted diseases with penicillin. As a result, about one and a half thousand people were injured - including prostitutes used in the experiment (and not knowing about it).

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