Fight back against permanent blows: Breakthrough paves way for vaccine to protect against gonorrhea as rates rise and drug-resistant strains gain a foothold

British scientists may have paved the way for a jab that protects against drug-resistant gonorrhoea.

Experts are looking for a vaccine against the sexually transmitted disease caused by the bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which is becoming increasingly difficult to treat.

Strains of the bacteria have adapted to make the antibiotics doctors routinely use to treat them less effective, effectively rendering them untreatable, with potentially life-changing consequences.

No vaccines have been developed for gonorrhea, but experts have had some success with vaccines against a related bacterium called Neisseria meningitidis. Early trials have shown that this bacterium helps people fight off the infection.

In the new study, conducted by the Universities of Oxford and Manchester, experts collaborated with 50 sex workers in Kenya, considered to be at high risk of gonorrhea, to investigate their immune response to the Nm vaccine.

The aim was to find out which antigens (the body’s fighting proteins) produced by the Nm vaccine are effective against gonorrhea.

Analysis of blood samples from sex workers showed that antigens were specifically targeted small structures on the surface of gonorrhea cells.

While the Nm vaccine currently has limited effectiveness against gonorrhea, experts say further refinement could lead to the development of a more effective shot.

Project leader Professor Chris Tang, a pathology expert at the University of Oxford, described his work as “an important step towards the development of gonorrhoea vaccines”.

Professor Jeremy Derrick, an expert in biological sciences at Manchester, added that they hope the method could also be used for other infections that are becoming increasingly resistant to routine drugs.

‘We hope that the application of these technologies will advance the development of vaccines against other pathogens.’

Their research follows warnings from health authorities that the number of gonorrhoea cases in England has reached a record high amid growing fears of a drug-resistant variant.

Last year, more than 85,000 cases of gonorrhoea were reported in England, the highest number since records began in 1918.

One type that poses a “particular danger” is ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhoea, the UKHSA said.

Ceftriaxone is the antibiotic of choice for treating gonorrhoea in the UK. Resistance to the drug can complicate treatment.

Between June 2022 and May 2024, 15 cases of ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhoea were diagnosed in England, including five that were ‘extensively drug resistant’, meaning they were resistant to both first- and second-line treatments and to other antibiotics.

As of 2022, only nine cases had been identified in England.

In the new study, conducted by the Universities of Oxford and Manchester, experts collaborated with 50 sex workers in Kenya, identified as having a high risk of gonorrhoea, to investigate their immune response to the Neisseria meningitidis vaccine

So far, all confirmed cases have been heterosexual, mainly in their 20s, and most contracted the infection abroad.

There has been limited transmission within England, but the UK’s Health Security Agency has said the rising number of cases in recent years is “concerning” as it raises the risk of “wider spread and treatment problems”.

Experts are urging Britons who have condomless sex with new or casual partners to get tested.

Gonorrhea is usually spread through contact with infected sexual fluids. The bacteria can infect the cervix, urethra, rectum, throat, or eyes.

It is most commonly transmitted through unprotected vaginal, oral or anal sex, but also through sharing sex toys that are used in the same way without a condom.

Symptoms of gonorrhea usually develop within two weeks of infection and include an unusual discharge from the genitals and a burning sensation when urinating.

However, experts warn that one in ten men and half of women do not experience any obvious symptoms, meaning they could be silent spreaders of the STD.

If left untreated, it can cause infertility and, although rare, life-threatening sepsis.