Feasibility and acceptability of gonorrhoea whole genome sequencing
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the feasibility and acceptability of using gonorrhoea whole genome sequencing to guide patient care
IRAS ID
316150
Contact name
Roeann Osman
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
UCL/ UCLH Joint Research Office
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2022/10/29, UCL Data protection number
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 31 days
Research summary
Gonorrhoea is a bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI). The number of people with gonorrhoea in England is increasing with around 50,000 diagnoses in 2021. For gonorrhoea transmission to be maintained in the population, there needs to be overlapping sexual partnerships and high rates of partner change. Therefore, people with gonorrhoea are also at greater risk of acquiring other STIs including HIV and hepatitis viruses. There are effective ways to prevent HIV and hepatitis, like taking medication before sex (HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis/PrEP) and vaccines. However, use of these methods is low among heterosexual men with gonorrhoea as many healthcare professionals would not consider them to be at greater risk unless reporting sex with other men.
Whole genome sequencing (WGS) of gonorrhoea which can show how closely related infections are in different people. Very similar infections mean there is likely to be a closer sexual link between people with those infections than for people with very different infections. Previous research has shown that gonorrhoea in some heterosexual men is almost identical to gonorrhoea in gay and bisexual men living with HIV. Therefore, WGS could potentially be used to understand if some heterosexual men with gonorrhoea are at greater risk of HIV. This could help healthcare professionals and patients understand if methods such as PrEP and vaccines are appropriate for them.
The research aim is to understand if patients and healthcare professionals would find this potential use of WGS acceptable and what the barriers and facilitators to using WGS in this way might be. This will help us make recommendations about if and how WGS could be used to provide more effective sexual health care for people diagnosed with gonorrhoea. We will do this by talking to people who have been diagnosed with gonorrhoea and people who provide sexual health services.
REC name
Wales REC 6
REC reference
23/WA/0144
Date of REC Opinion
25 May 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion