SCIENTISTS have issued an urgent warning over an STD that can reportedly be spread by kissing.
Gonorrhoea can now be spread through snogging, according to new research by health experts.
Getty – ContributorTop scientists have claimed that new research shows gonorrhoea can be spread by kissing[/caption]
This is despite sexual health experts warning for decades that the common STD couldn’t spread through kissing.
Just last month health chiefs warned of a “worrying” surge of gonorrhoea cases hitting record levels in England.
The UK Health Security Agency warned “the clap” is up 21 per cent compared to before Covid,
Researchers have now claimed that the new evidence about transmitting the disease is clear enough to change guidance, reports MailOnline.
Professor Eric Chow, of the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, told MailOnline: “We think it is possible to catch gonorrhoea via kissing.
“I think the guidelines should be updated.
In January, Chow’s team of researchers conducted a review of six studies that looked at whether tongue kissing was a risk factor for gonorrhoea and chlamydia.
Published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases, the review ruled kissing did raise the risk of becoming infected.
Meanwhile, a study published in July, by many of the same researchers, determined that kissing could spread gonorrhoea.
“We found oropharyngeal gonorrhoea was associated with exposure to a partner’s mouth through kissing,” the study authors wrote in eClinicalMedicine.
And a 2019 study by the same team let them to claim that it could mean anyone using saliva as a lubricant during sex could also pose a risk.
Professor Chow and his colleagues wrote in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections: “A number of pieces of evidence suggest transmission from the oropharynx [back of the throat] may be more common than previously thought.”
“[The bacteria] can be cultured from saliva, suggesting that the exchange of saliva between individuals may potentially transmit gonorrhoea.”
A spokesperson for the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV told MailOnline: “New research into the transmission of STIs is important for our understanding of how they spread and, in this instance, how the transmission risk of gonorrhoea may be reduced.
“Gonorrhoea is primarily passed through unprotected oral, vaginal, or anal sex.
“Whilst there may be cases where it has passed from mouth to mouth through kissing, this is probably very uncommon.
“This research highlights the importance for individuals to get tested regularly, especially after condomless sex with a new or casual partner.
“It remains essential for everyone to have access to high quality sexual health services to help keep you and your sexual partners safe.”
The NHS states gonorrhoea can’t be spread through mouth-to-mouth contact.
There were 56,327 positive tests for gonorrhoea between January and September last year, compared to 46,541 in 2019, which broke the record at the time.
Gonorrhoea is usually easily treated with a single antibiotic injection.
It is very common, especially among young people ages 15-24 years.
Gonorrhoea can spread to the reproductive organs and cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can lead to long-term pain, infertility and other pregnancy complications in women.
In men, it can cause a painful infection in the testicles and prostate gland, which may lead to reduced fertility in some cases.
Many people never get symptoms of the sexually transmitted infection.
But experts fear the bug is evolving to beat antibiotics.
What is gonorrhoea?
The bacterial infection spreads through all forms of unprotected sex, as well as by sharing unwashed or unprotected sex toys.
According to the NHS, the bacteria which causes gonorrhoea can sometimes infect your throat and eyes, as well as the more common locations of the cervix, urethra and rectum.
Pregnant women can pass the infection on to their baby, which can cause blindness if it isn’t treated in time.
But the bacteria which causes gonorrhoea can’t survive outside of the human body for long.
This means it doesn’t spread by kissing, hugging or sharing cutlery, towels or toilet seats.