HSE warns GPs as gonorrhoea cases among women soars

A trebling of the number of cases of women with gonorrhoea within a month was of such concern that the HSE took the step of writing to doctors to highlight best practice in managing suspected and confirmed infections.

In her letter to GPs, the HSE’s national clinical lead for sexual health, Dr Fiona Lyons, said cases were “occurring in young women compared to previous years, with a median age of 20”. Previously, the median age had been 22.

The action was also prompted by an alarming 52% increase in gonorrhoea rates among males in 2016, rising from 1,294 in 2015 to 1,964 last year, according to figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre.