Written question asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton (Labour) on Tuesday, 26 April 2016, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 11 May 2016. It was answered by Lord Prior of Brampton (Conservative) on Tuesday, 10 May 2016 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Gonorrhoea: Disease Control

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to prevent the spread of gonorrhoea in England.

Answer: Public Health England (PHE) undertakes a number of actions to limit the spread of gonorrhoea and other sexually transmitted infections in populations most at risk of infection in England, which are outlined in PHE’s Strategic Action Plan for Health promotion for sexual and reproductive health and HIV. These activities are focused on (i) developing and providing high quality surveillance data to monitor rates of gonorrhoea and related antimicrobial resistance, (ii) producing national guidance and a service specification template to optimise infection detection, (iii) maintaining effective treatment by advising on national treatment guidelines, promoting good prescribing practice and updating national guidance on the management of gonorrhoea in primary care, (iv) leading the public health response to local and national outbreaks to control wider dissemination in the population (v) supporting high quality case and partner management by providing expert advice, (vi) improving prevention by raising awareness in professionals and affected communities through local and national campaigns, and (vii) co-leading research to improve the evidence base. A copy of the Strategic Action Plan is attached.

Secondary information