Gonorrhoea vaccines: a step in the right direction

The sexually transmitted infection gonorrhoea is a global public health problem for which no vaccine is available. More than 106 million new cases of gonorrhoea are estimated to occur yearly worldwide.1 Furthermore, incidence is rising,2 and is expected to continue to rise because of the prevalence of multidrug-resistant strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.3 As a result, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and WHO have prioritised N gonorrhoeae as an urgent public health threat for which immediate action is needed.4, 5 Gonococcal infection can result in a range of clinical outcomes and caused 444 900 years lived with disability in 2015.2 Asymptomatic infection occurs in 50–80% of infected women, and 1–40% of infected men, which, if left untreated, can lead to severe consequences such as pelvic inflammatory disease, poor pregnancy outcomes, infertility, and neonatal complications. Furthermore, infection with N gonorrhoeae increases the risk of acquiring and transmitting HIV.6, 7Office of the Snr Dep Vice Chancellor, Institute for GlycomicsFull Tex