New research says you could catch gonorrhoea by kissing - here’s why

Gonorrhoea can be spread through kissing, a new study has found.

Experts previously thought that the disease - which is the second most common sexually transmitted bacterial infection in the UK - could only be passed on through unprotected sex.

However, new research has found that the illness can be passed on through the exchange of saliva during kissing.

Disease can be untreatable

Gonorrhoea, which can develop in the genitals, rectum, throat and eyes, can be very difficult to treat as some strains are resistant to antibiotics.

Signs you could have throat gonorrhoea include a sore throat and swollen lymph nodes in the neck, though in many cases it causes no symptoms.

A study at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections, surveyed more than 3,000 men on their sex lives.

All of the men studied were either gay or bisexual - a decision made by lead author Professor Eric Chow of the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre because this is the demographic where the disease is most prevalent in Australia.

However, the results of the study apply to people of all sexualities.

Participants filled in a survey where they described their sexual practices, including partners they had just kissed, just had sex with or had done both with.

More than 3,000 people studied

Those who had kissed and had sex with at least four people were 81 per cent more likely to get throat, or oropharyngeal, gonorrhoea.