Super Gonorrhoea Outbreak In England
Highly drug-resistant gonorrhoea is spreading in the north of England with an outbreak centred in Leeds, sexual health doctors have told the BBC.
One of the main treatments has become useless against the new strain of the sexually transmitted infection.
Twelve cases have been confirmed in Leeds and a further four have been reported in Macclesfield, Oldham and Scunthorpe.
However, there are likely to be more undiagnosed cases.
The strain in this outbreak is able to shrug off the antibiotic azithromycin, which is normally used alongside another drug, ceftriaxone.
Peter Greenhouse, a consultant in sexual health based in Bristol, told the BBC News website: "This azithromycin highly-resistant outbreak is the first one that has triggered a national alert.The outbreak started in March.
The British Association for Sexual Health and HIV says all cases have been in heterosexuals and some have reported sexual partners from across England.
Dr Jan Clarke, the organisation's president, told the BBC: "It was sufficiently serious to alert our whole national chain of clinics that there is the possibility that we've got a very resistant strain of gonorrhoea.
"We are really skating on thin ice as far as treating gonorrhoea is concerned at the moment."