Via CIDRAP, Lisa Schnirring writes: In world first, UK reports high-level gonorrhea resistance. Excerpt:
Health officials in the United Kingdom announced today that they are investigating a gonorrhea infection contracted abroad that marks the first global detection of high-level resistance to recommended dual-antibiotic treatment as well as to other commonly used drugs.
Gwenda Hughes, PhD, consultant scientist at Public Health England (PHE) and head of its sexually transmitted infection section said in a statement that the patient's Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection is very resistant to first-line treatment, a combination of two antibiotics—azithromycin and ceftriaxone.
"We are following up this case to ensure that the infection was effectively treated with other options and the risk of any onward transmission is minimised," she said, adding that the PHE actively monitors the spread of antibiotic resistance in gonorrhea and potential treatment failures.
In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) released new data on the global rise in multidrug-resistant gonorrhea, warning that widespread treatment failure is likely in the years ahead unless new antibiotics are developed. At the time of the report, three countries had reported strains of gonorrhea resistant to all current treatment: Japan, France, and Spain.
WHO data also showed that N gonorrhea, known for its ability to quickly mutate and develop resistance, is becoming resistant to cefixime and ceftriaxone, the drugs the WHO recommends for use in combination with azithromycin for treatment of most gonococcal infections.
See also this report in The Guardian.
