Record numbers of sexually-active men and women in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire are living with an STI after a shock spike in gonorrhoea cases.
After the emergence of a new 'super-strain' of the sexually transmitted disease, new figures from Public Health England show that cases of gonorrhoea are now the highest since modern records began in 2012.
There were 428 cases of gonorrhoea diagnosed across the whole county in 2018 up from 352 the year before.
In Stoke-on-Trent alone, cases jumped from 134 to 159.
Last year, there were also 2,161 cases of chlamydia in 2018, 653 of genital warts, 489 of genital herpes, and 42 cases of syphilis.
Now campaigners have urged ministers to 'wake up to this crisis' and blasted their handling of sexual health so far as 'simply not good enough'.
Gonorrhoea is caused by a bacteria called Neisseria gonorrhoeae and is usually spread through having unprotected sex.
An untreated infection can lead to infertility and pelvic inflammatory disease, and can even be passed on to a child during pregnancy.
But there are fears around the effectiveness of antibiotics - which can usually treat the disease - with the first case of super-gonorrhea diagnosed in a male patient last March.
It was the first ever time the infection was not treatable with first-choice antibiotics.
The man’s infection was eventually successfully treated with a different antibiotic.
At the time, Public Health England launched an investigation to track down any further cases - including in the man’s British partner - but the superbug was not found to have spread in the UK.
But a recent government sexual health report found that 'anti-microbial resistance is becoming a major issue in the treatment of gonorrhoea' and that there have been a further two cases of gonorrhea super-strains in the past three months.
The report warned that if the issue isn’t addressed then gonorrhea will “no longer be a disease that is curable with one injection”.
The worsening situation in Stoke-on-Trent is mirrored across the rest of the country.
There were 54,798 overall gonorrhea diagnoses last year - up by more than a quarter from 43,685 in 2017 and more than double the 25,998 in 2012.
Debbie Laycock, head of policy and public affairs at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: "Today’s new STI statistics shows there needs to be urgent action to improve the state of the nation’s sexual health.
“We are yet again seeing soaring rates of syphilis and gonorrhoea, and increases in the number of people attending sexual health services, which is happening against a backdrop of central government stripping £700m from public health budgets in the last five years.
“The government cannot bury its head any longer.
“Sexual health funding must be increased as part of the forthcoming spending review to ensure services can properly meet local demand.
“Ministers need to wake up to this crisis and take decisive action.
“Their handling of sexual health to date is simply not good enough.”
Dr Gwenda Hughes, head of STI surveillance at PHE, said: “The rise in sexually transmitted infections is concerning.
“STIs can pose serious consequences to health – both your own and that of current and future sexual partners.
“No matter what age you are, or what type of relationship you are in,it’s important to look after your sexual health.
“If you have sex with a new or casual partner, make sure you use condoms and get regularly tested.”
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