Silencing 'the clap': Mouthwash may halt sexual disease

Australian researchers are attempting to find out if mouthwash could stop gonorrhoea from spreading.

It is hoped that gargling may kill infection in the throat that could be passed on during oral sex.

Gonorrhoea, also known as ‘the clap’, is a bacteria that is spread sexually and people can carry the infection in their throats for months without suffering any symptoms.

Australian researchers are exploring if a mouthwash can kill the bacteria and stop the infection from being spread.

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Professor Christopher Fairley, from Melbourne’s Monash University has been testing whether treating patients with mouthwash can kill the bacteria in their throats, the BBC reports.

Professor Fairley recruited 58 male volunteers who all had detectable levels of gonorrhoea in their mouths and half were asked to gargle with saltwater for a minute, while the other half were given an antiseptic mouthwash.

After five minutes, Fairley swabbed their throats to see if the mouthwash had killed the gonorrhoea bacteria and found the levels of detectable bacteria fell among those using the mouthwash.

Professor Fairley said more research is needed to check how long this effect might last - and whether it could really halt the spread of gonorrhoea.

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For the next stage, the research will be expanded into a more detailed three-month trial to see the impact more sustained gargling with mouthwash might have on the infection.

According to the BBC, health officials in the UK have also warned of a new breed of ‘super-gonorrhoea’ – which is resistant to the usual antibiotics prescribed to treat it.

Experts warned that if it becomes resistant to another, stronger antibiotic, there will be no further drugs left to treat it.