Two British women contracted super gonorrhoea as a result of unprotected sex in Ibiza

Two British have contracted a potent strain of gonorrhoea as a result of unprotected sex in Ibiza, according to health chiefs.

The unidentified women have picked up the so-called ‘super gonorrhoea’, which is reportedly spreading across the Spanish party island.

One of the woman is believed to have caught the sexually transmitted infection (STI) after having sex without a condom with a man who recently returned from Ibiza.

The other woman is said to have picked up the STI after having condomless sex with multiple men on the island, passing it on to at least one other person.

Both women have now been cured of the infection.

Health chiefs said the two cases “was based around exposure in Ibiza. The common link is people who are having unprotected sex on holiday”.

In a report in the Eurosurveillance medical journal, researchers wrote: “It is likely that there has been onward transmission from one or more undetected cases.”

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The experts believe the STI may be spreading across Ibiza by people who caught it before travelling there.

Health chiefs have now warned that super gonorrhoea “has the potential to spread globally”.

Dr Nick Phin, deputy director of the National Infection Service at Public Health England, said: “Two women were treated for extensively drug resistant gonorrhoea in the autumn of 2018.

“These cases serve as a reminder of the importance of protecting yourself against sexually transmitted infections.

“This includes using condoms consistently and correctly with all new and casual sexual partners.”

Gonorrhoea is a bacterial infection which used to be easily treated with antibiotics but is increasingly becoming resistant to medications.

Around 45,000 people were diagnosed with gonorrhoea in the UK in 2017 – a rise of 22% from the previous year.

If left untreated it can cause life-threatening and permanent health problems including infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease and arthritis.