A UK man who caught what was dubbed the world's "worst-ever" case of super-gonorrhoea has been cured, Public Health England (PHE) said — but two similar cases have been reported in Australia.

The unidentified heterosexual man, who had a partner in the UK, picked up the infection having sex with another woman in South-East Asia, PHE said.

Health officials said it was the first time the infection could not be cured with the regular treatment — a combination of antibiotics azithromycin and ceftriaxone.

It was eventually successfully treated with another antibiotic, ertapenem.

"We are pleased to report that the case of multi-drug resistant gonorrhoea has been successfully treated," head of PHE's sexually-transmitted infections (STI) section Gwenda Hughes said.

"Investigations have also revealed there has been no further spread of this infection within the UK.

PHE said efforts to contact the partner in South-East Asia were ongoing.

Cases in Queensland, Western Australia 'will be challenging'

Two similar cases of multi-drug resistant gonorrhoea have recently been diagnosed in Queensland and Western Australia, Australia's chief medical officer Professor Brendan Murphy said in a statement.

"These latest cases and [the] recent one in the UK appear to be the first reported that are resistant to all of the antibiotics that have been in routine use against gonorrhoea," Professor Murphy said.

The Australians' infections have so far been resistant to ceftriaxone, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, penicillin and tetracycline, according to PHE.

"These cases will be challenging for healthcare professionals to manage," PHE said.

One of the Australians is believed to have caught the infection having sex in South-East Asia, while the other has not recently travelled overseas, PHE said.

Professor Murphy said authorities were working to determine where the infection was acquired.

He urged people to prevent the spread of gonorrhoea by practising safe sex, using barrier protection like condoms and dams with all types of sexual activity.

Symptoms of gonorrhoea include abnormal discharge, genital and anal pain, and a sore, dry throat in both men and women.

People who experience symptoms have been advised to visit their GP or sexual health clinic as soon as possible.