Background: Gonorrhoea is on the rise: between 2021 and 2022, a 50% and a 33% increase in diagnoses was seen, respectively, in England and the Netherlands. A concurrent rise in gonococcal keratoconjunctivitis (GKC) is a serious concern due to the potentially devastating visual complications.
Methods: This is a retrospective case series of adult GKC from two Western European tertiary ophthalmology centres between 2017 and July 2023. The clinical features, ocular complications and antimicrobial susceptibilities are reported within.
Results: An increased incidence was recorded at both centres, with 11 confirmed cases in the first 7 months of 2023, compared with ≤3 per year in 2017-2022.
Conclusion: The notable increase of GKC cases in our centres in 2023 may indicate a rise across Western Europe. Enhanced, sustained, national surveillance of GKC is essential to establish incidence and antimicrobial susceptibility, to inform treatment guidelines and guide appropriate public health response.
Keywords: Cornea; Infection; Public health.
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.