Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to combat the growth of drug-resistant sexually transmitted infections.
Of all bacterial sexually transmitted infections, antimicrobial resistance is primarily a concern for gonorrhoea and Mycoplasma genitalium.
Public Health England (PHE) undertakes comprehensive surveillance through the Gonococcal Resistance to Antimicrobials Surveillance Programme. This surveillance programme enables early detection and management of antibiotic resistance in gonorrhoea. This intelligence is used to advise on national gonorrhoea treatment guidelines to ensure they remain effective.
PHE offers a service to detect antibiotic resistance in Mycoplasma genitalium which can help clinicians give the most appropriate treatment to patients. PHE is conducting a pilot of surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in Mycoplasma genitalium in collaboration with several sexual health clinics across England.
PHE also investigates both outbreaks and individual cases of extensively drug resistant gonorrhoea and potential treatment failures for gonorrhoea to ensure effective management and control spread.