The First Confirmed Case of Drug-Resistant Super-Gonorrhea is Here
The much-feared super-gonorrhea is finally here. A UK man has the “worst-ever” case of the infection, according to BBC News. Doctors and scientists have warned for years that gonorrhea is becoming more resistant to the antibiotics used to treat it. “This report is one more confirmation of our greatest fear: drug-resistant gonorrhea spreading around the globe,” the National Coalition of STD Directors’ David Harvey told CNN.
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The BBC reported that the unnamed man’s doctors are attempting to treat him with the last available antibiotic, after others failed:
The main antibiotic treatment – a combination of azithromycin and ceftriaxone – has failed to treat the disease. Dr Gwenda Hughes, from Public Health England, said: “This is the first time a case has displayed such high-level resistance to both of these drugs and to most other commonly used antibiotics.” Discussions with the World Health Organization and the European Centres for Disease Control agree this is a world first.
Overprescription of antibiotics and the drugs’ widespread use in livestock have led to a growing number of drug-resistant infections. As gonorrhea gets tougher to treat, practicing safe sex becomes even more important.
