There has been a notable increase in the number of people contracting oral gonorrhea - which can even be passed on through kissing. 

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that is treated by antibiotics. 

If left untreated, it can cause a person very serious health problems - such as infertility. 

On Moncrieff, sexual health specialist Dr Aisling Loy said oral gonorrhea is much like the variety contracted in the genital area. 

“The only difference is the location,” she explained. 

“It’s the same disease, the same bacteria, it’s just location. 

“When we do standard STI testing, generally, in heterosexuals, we tend to not look in the throat - unless there’s a very good reason. 

“We tend just to do, for gentlemen, a urine test and, for females, a vaginal swab.” 

In April, STI test kits sent out to a number of young people aged between 17 and 24 and, unusually, they included a test kit for oral gonorrhea.

“When that came back, they found that 2% of those 7,000 tested had oral gonorrhea that wouldn’t have been picked up in a standard test,” Dr Loy said. 

“About 140 people were going around with an STI in their throats that wouldn’t have realised it. 

“This is in the young population, you wouldn’t see as many in the old population - it tends to be under 25s.” 

'We have to be careful' 

Given the significant number of people who have oral gonorrhea, Dr Loy said the medical profession will have to “weigh up the pros and cons” of more routine testing for it.  

“The resource implications, the implications of treating something that may not be causing an issue, antimicrobial resistance,” she said. 

“Also, this could be something that could go away by itself - so, you don’t want to over medicinalise sex, stigmatise it and create more anxiety.

“So, we have to be careful.” 

Concerningly, Dr Loy noted that people with oral gonorrhea very often have no symptoms. 

“I had a gentleman recently who had symptoms because we had received oral sex from his girlfriend and his girlfriend tested negative,” she said. 

“He was so perplexed by this; she had tested negative and he had acquired gonorrhea. 

“I was explaining that she wouldn’t have been tested in her throat. 

“So, in that instance, if that partner came into me, I would then be doing throat testing on her - the only way she found out was because her partner developed symptoms.” 

Kissing

Dr Loy also noted that there is also “limited evidence” that oral gonorrhea can be contracted through kissing. 

“This is largely modelling work done out of Melbourne, Australia in 2017. 

“They show that, yes, you can [get it] from deep kissing - French kissing - and all of that. 

“It’s rare, but it’s possible and it lives in saliva for a short period of time.” 

The HSE can send a free STI testing kits to the home of anyone who needs one.

Main image: A couple kissing on a beach. Picture by: Alamy.