This 2025 BASHH guideline updates the 2018 UK national recommendations for the diagnosis, treatment, and health promotion principles needed for the effective management of infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
The 2025 guideline updates treatment recommendations for gonorrhoea reflecting changes in antimicrobial resistance patterns since the 2018 guideline.
The guideline provides updated recommendations on diagnosis of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection.
The guideline provides updated treatment recommendations for gonorrhoea management in the UK.
Health promotion principles are included as a core component of effective gonorrhoea management in the guideline.
This research paper is a 2025 clinical practice guideline from the British Association of Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) that provides updated national recommendations for how gonorrhoea should be diagnosed, treated, and managed across the United Kingdom. It updates the previous version of the guideline from 2018, reflecting new evidence, changes in antibiotic resistance patterns in the gonorrhoea bacteria (Neisseria gonorrhoeae), and advances in diagnostic approaches. The guideline covers not only clinical testing and treatment but also health promotion strategies to reduce transmission. Gonorrhoea is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections in the UK and globally, and the bacteria that causes it has increasingly developed resistance to many of the antibiotics historically used to treat it. This research suggests that updated national guidance is necessary to ensure clinicians are using the most effective and appropriate current treatments, diagnostic tools, and patient management strategies to address this evolving public health challenge. For people using sexual health services, this guideline informs the standards of care they can expect to receive in UK clinics. For healthcare providers, it offers a standardized, evidence-based framework to ensure consistent, up-to-date management of gonorrhoea across different settings. The inclusion of health promotion principles reflects the importance of prevention alongside treatment in controlling the spread of infection.
Fifer H, Ismail M, Soni S, Nwaosu U, Sadiq S, Milligan A, et al.. (2025). British Association of Sexual Health and HIV UK National Guideline for the Management of infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae, 2025.. International journal of STD & AIDS. https://doi.org/10.1177/09564624251345195