New data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows that syphilis diagnoses in England continued to rise in 2024 compared to 2023.
Overall, there were 9,535 diagnoses of early-stage syphilis diagnoses in 2024 compared to 9,375 diagnoses in 2023 – a 2% rise. Concerningly, the overall figure for syphilis, including late-stage syphilis or complications from the infection, increased 5% from 12,456 in 2023 to 13,030 in 2024.
Encouragingly, there was a 16% drop in gonorrhoea cases, with 71,802 diagnoses of gonorrhoea in 2024, compared to 85,370 in 2023. The fall has been greatest in young people aged 15 to 24 years where there was a 36% reduction in diagnoses, but it is too soon to conclude whether this trend will continue.
There has been a concerning acceleration in diagnoses of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea cases. While most gonorrhoea infections can be treated effectively, certain strains present significant treatment challenges due to antibiotic resistance. Ceftriaxone resistance is particularly concerning as this antibiotic serves as the primary treatment for gonorrhoea infections.
Although numbers remain low, ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhoea cases are being detected more frequently. There have now been 14 cases reported in the first 5 months of 2025, which is greater than the number of cases reported for the whole of 2024 (13 cases). Six of the 14 cases in 2025 have been extensively drug-resistant cases, which means that they were resistant to ceftriaxone and to second-line treatment options.
Most ceftriaxone resistant cases are associated with travel to or from the Asia-Pacific region, where the prevalence of ceftriaxone resistance is high.
The latest data also shows:
-
the number of sexual health screens (diagnostic tests for one or more of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and HIV) has remained relatively constant (2,380,498 in 2023 compared to 2,367,853 in 2024)
-
chlamydia diagnoses decreased by 13% to 168,889 diagnoses in 2024 from 194,143 diagnoses in 2023
-
first episode genital warts diagnoses decreased by 4% to 25,056 diagnoses in 2024 from 26,193 diagnoses in 2023 - diagnoses of genital warts remained low amongst 15 to 17 year-olds, the age-group targeted for school-based HPV vaccination (108 in 2023, then 78 in 2024)
Though STIs are usually easily treated with antibiotics, many can cause serious health issues if left untreated. Chlamydia and gonorrhoea can cause infertility and pelvic inflammatory disease, while syphilis can cause serious, irreversible and potentially life-threatening problems affecting the brain, heart, or nerves.
Minister for Public Health and Prevention Ashley Dalton said: "These data show trends in gonorrhoea diagnoses are starting to go in the right direction. However, with rising rates of infectious syphilis and antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea, more work clearly needs to be done. As part of our Plan for Change, this government is aiming to shift the health service from sickness to prevention. This includes rolling out the world’s first vaccine programme to prevent gonorrhoea this summer."
