STI-riddled unis: The university cities with the most cases of gonorrhoea

Most people go to uni to get a degree, drink a lot, make friends and let’s be honest, have a shag.

But the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has warned students going to uni this year about the dangers of catching an STI at uni from sex without a condom. This is due to a record-high number of gonorrhoea cases in the UK.

In 2022, there was a total of 82,582 cases of gonorrhoea in the UK. This is an increase of more than 50 per cent compared to 2021.

Young people aged 15 to 24 and university students remain the most likely to be diagnosed with STIs. Last year there were over 400 diagnoses of STIs every day for young people.

Dr Katy Sinka, Head of Sexually Transmitted Infections at UKHSA, said: “Starting university can be an exciting time. But it is very important to be aware of the risks of catching STIs from condomless sex. STIs can have serious consequences and there are very high numbers of STIs at the moment – but there are some easy steps you can take to reduce your risk of infection.”

Though STIs are usually easily treated with antibiotics, many can cause serious health issues. Chlamydia and gonorrhoea can cause infertility and pelvic inflammatory disease and gonorrhoea is on its way to becoming untreatable as it grows resistant to the drugs used to treat it.

So here is a rundown of the university cities with the most cases of gonorrhoea in the UK:

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16. York – 255

York is only a small city and has the lowest rate of STIs out of all the university cities. It had 255 cases of gonorrhoea found through STI testing last year.

15. Southampton 393

Home to Southampton University, Southampton has a relatively low rate of STIs with 393 cases in 2022.

14. Cambridge – 445

Finally, a league table it is not at the top of, the city of Cambridge had 445 cases of gonorrhoea last year.

13. Lincoln – 483

With one of the lowest rates of gonorrhoea in the UK, Lincoln had 483 cases in 2022.

12. Warwick – 484

The city of Warwick had 484 cases of the STI last year making it the 12th most gonorrhoea-riddled university city in the UK.

11. Oxford – 502

Home to both The University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes, Oxford had 502 cases of gonorrhoea in 2022.

10. Bristol – 673

With 373 cases in 2022 and 143 per 100,000 Bristol is the 10th most STI-riddled uni city in the UK.

9. Newcastle – 691

Just slightly more than Bristol, another typical party uni city, Newcastle, had 691 cases of gonorrhoea across the city last year.

8. Sheffield – 809

With The University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam, Sheffield had 809 cases of gonorrhoea in 2022.

7. Nottingham – 891

With only 84 cases per 100,000, Nottingham had 891 cases of gonorrhoea last year.

6. Kent – 1,429

With a big jump up from Nottingham, Kent, home to The University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University, had 1,429 cases of gonorrhoea in 2022.

5. Liverpool – 1,511

Liverpool has seven universities across the city and 1,511 cases of gonorrhoea. That is over 312 per 100,000 people.

4. Birmingham – 1,574

The fourth most-STI-riddled university city, Birmingham had 1,574 cases in 2022. This is the only university city where cases of gonorrhoea have actually decreased since last year.

3. Leeds – 1,668

The uni city with the third highest cases of gonorrhoea, Leeds had 1,668 cases of the STI last year. This works out at 206 cases per 100,000.

2. Manchester – 1,692

Manchester is the second most gonorrhoea-riddled university city in the UK. With 1,692 cases of gonorrhoea in 2022, this is 308 per 100,000 cases.

1. London – 20,293

With a massive 20,293 cases of gonorrhoea across the entire city, London by far tops the list of the most riddled STI cities. With Lambeth topping the number of cases across London boroughs with 3,875 closely followed by Southwark with 3,113 cases, just under a third of the total cases in the country can be found in London. With over 40 universities in London alone, this is not surprising.

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