Study: Not just bliss, French kiss may get you gonorrhoea too

If you thought gonorrhoea - the most antibiotic-resistant of all the sexually transmitted infections - can spread through only oral, anal or vaginal sex with someone with the disease, hold on. New research suggests mouth kissing can also be a risk factor in spread of the infection and a good-quality anti-bacterial mouthwash can help.

The global sexual health community "needs to recognise that gonorrhoea is on the rise and that there should be an increased awareness of the risks of kissing as a route of transmission", said one of the researchers Christopher Fairley, Professor at Monash University in Australia.

"Understanding how it is transmitted is the key to understanding how to control it - if transmission by kissing is a key route of transmission then it is important to investigate new methods of control, such as anti-bacterial mouthwash," Fairley added.

According to Dr B.M. Doda, senior physician at Walia Nursing and Maternity Home in New Delhi, kissing can spread gonorrhoea. "I agree with the study that kissing can also cause gonorrhoea though the chances are less. Saliva can also help spread the disease," Dr Doda told IANS.

Dr Joydeep Ghosh who is Consultant (Internal Medicine), Fortis Anandapur Kolkata, said "I have seen people (mostly heterosexual and bi-sexual males) who never had sex for months had oral gonorrhoea because of kissing".

According to the the World Health Organization (WHO), each year, an estimated 78 million people are infected with gonorrhoea, which is caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

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