Gonorrhoea infections rose in Cumbria last year, figures show, as cases across England hit their highest level in over a century.

Experts say the large rise in gonorrhoea diagnoses nationally is worrying, with the sexually transmitted infection becoming more resistant to antibiotics over time.

Public Health England figures show 185 cases of gonorrhoea were diagnosed in Cumbria in 2019.

That was up by four per cent from the 178 infections reported a year earlier, and the highest number since comparable local records began in 2012.

It meant the area had a gonorrhoea infection rate of 37 per 100,000 people – below the North West’s average rate of 97. Across England as a whole, 126 in every 100,000 people was infected with gonorrhoea last year.

Cases across England swelled by 26 per cent over the year to 70,936 – the highest number since records began in 1918.

The national figure includes 1,400 people who accessed services in England but lived elsewhere in the UK or abroad.

Gonorrhoea is the second most common bacterial STI in the UK after chlamydia and can sometimes be symptomless.

In Cumbria, overall STI cases rose to 2,849 last year, up by 7% from 2,657 in 2018. Across England, cases rose by 5%.

Public Health England said the rise was likely to be due to people not using condoms correctly and consistently with new and casual partners.

It was also put down to an increase in testing helping improve detection of the common infections.

Chlamydia was the most commonly diagnosed infection last year, with 229,411 – or nearly half – of all new STI diagnoses in 2019.

Among young people aged 15 to 24, the number of chlamydia tests carried out rose two per cent compared with 2018.

Dr John McSorley, president of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, said the year-on-year rise in STI diagnoses is “hugely concerning”.

“This year we have seen how crucial investment in public health services is to support the wellbeing of populations more widely, and we must consider how we can continue to improve access to services for all those who need them and those at the highest risk,” he added.

​PHE said it is analysing the data to understand the impact of the Covid-19 response on HIV and STI services and the effect of social distancing measures on the spread of STIs.

Ian Green, chief executive of sexual health charity the Terrence Higgins Trust, said the figures reveal the “ongoing inaction and lack of vision for improving the nation’s sexual health”.

He added: “Rates of sexually transmitted infections like gonorrhoea and syphilis are rising significantly while sexual health services are over-burdened and under-funded.”

Mr Green said that as people start to have sex again in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown, access to testing and treatment should be “scaled up in parallel”.