Three more cases of antibiotic-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae which causes the sexually-transmitted disease gonorrhoea have been discovered in England, according to the UK Health Security Agency.

The new cases, one in London and two in the Midlands, follows the discovery last year of the bacteria in a heterosexual man who was infected in the capital in November but was treated successfully.

The UKHSA said a woman in her 20s in London and a heterosexual couple in their 20s in the Midlands were recently diagnosed with N. gonorrhoeae which is resistant to the antibiotic ceftriaxone.

“After a couple of years without any cases of this hard to treat form of gonorrhoea, we have now seen four cases in the last two months. It’s too soon to say whether this will be the start of a longer-term trend, but we do know that STIs are on the rise in general,” said Dr Katy Sinka, STI section head at the UKHSA.

“Getting an STI isn’t as simple as taking some medicine and moving on with your life - if not properly treated, they can have long term impacts on your and your partner’s health. Adding antibiotic resistance into the mix makes the impact on your life even greater.

“There are simple steps you can take to reduce your risk of gonorrhoea and other STIs. Use condoms consistently and correctly with all new or casual partners, test regularly for STIs and if you have any symptoms such as unusual discharge, don’t have sex until you are tested.”