Leading scientists now claim that gonorrhea can be spread by kissing.
For decades, sexual health experts have insisted that “clap” cannot be spread through putrefaction, and instead is transmitted through unprotected sex.
But researchers say the evidence is now clear enough to change direction.
Professor Eric Chow, of the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, He told MailOnline: ‘We believe it is possible to catch gonorrhea through kissing.
“I think the guidelines should be updated.”
Scientists say gonorrhea can be spread by kissing, as they call for a change of direction
In January, his team of researchers conducted a review of six studies that looked at whether tongue kissing was a risk factor for gonorrhea and chlamydia.
The review, which was published in the Journal of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, ruled that sweating increased the risk of infection.
However, this was not the case for chlamydia.
Meanwhile, a study published in July, by many of the same researchers, found that kissing can spread gonorrhea. He analyzed the sexual histories and STD records of more than 2,000 gay and bisexual men.
“We found that oropharyngeal gonorrhea is associated with exposure to a partner’s mouth through kissing,” the study authors write in eClinicalMedicine.
And in 2019, the same team It found that gay men were more likely to catch gonorrhea in their throat than in their penis — and the risk of spreading it was greater for kissing than for oral sex.
“A number of evidence suggests that transmission from the oropharynx (back of the throat) may be more common than previously thought,” Professor Zhao and colleagues write in the Journal of Sexually Transmitted Infections.
(bacteria) can be cultured from saliva, suggesting that the exchange of saliva between individuals may transmit gonorrhea.
This means, they claim, that using saliva as a lubricant during sex can also pose a risk.
A spokesperson for the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV told MailOnline: ‘The new research into transmission of STIs is important to our understanding of how they spread and, in this case, how the risk of transmission of gonorrhea can be reduced.
Gonorrhea is primarily transmitted through unprotected oral, vaginal, or anal sex.
While there may be cases of mouth-to-mouth transmission through kissing, this is probably not very common.
This research highlights the importance of regularly testing individuals, especially after unprotected sex with a new or casual partner.
“It remains essential that everyone has access to high-quality sexual health services to help keep you and your sexual partners safe.”
The NHS states that gonorrhea cannot be spread through oral contact.
Meanwhile, US CDC advice states that there is insufficient evidence to prove it is spread by kissing.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) warned in March that cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) had risen to a record high.
Interim British Health Services Authority data indicated that 56,327 cases were recorded between January and September 2022, an increase of 21 percent from 46,541 cases recorded in the same period in 2019, which is the previous highest level.
Health directors said the rise was largely due to those between the ages of 15 and 24 “due to frequent changes in sexual partners”.
Gonorrhea is usually easily treated with a single injection of antibiotics.
But experts fear that the bacteria, like others, are slowly mutating to become resistant to the drugs.
Several strains of “super gonorrhea” have already been detected around the world, including in the United Kingdom and the United States.
