A new strand of the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea has been found to be antibiotic resistant, possibly rendering the disease incurable.
The strand was found in several North American patients, according to a new report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Researchers examined the effectiveness of cefixime, the only oral cephalosporin antimicrobial that is advised for treatment of gonorrhea infections. They found that this medicine had a failure rate of nearly seven percent for a group of patients treated in Toronto.
The alert issued by the World Health Organization was announced in June of 2012 and stated that there is an impending threat for an untreatable form of antibiotic resistant gonorrhea that could potentially initiate an epidemic.
The study was lead by Vanessa G. Allen, M.D.,M.P.H., of Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Canada and aimed to identify if certain strains of gonorrhea with decreased resistance to cefixime are linked to clinical failures.
The investigators found that 6.7 percent of patients with gonorrhea still had the disease after their round of cefixime, which is the last antibiotic health professionals can use to successfully cure gonorrhea.
Out of the 133 participants who went back to the clinical for a test to see if their gonorrhea was cured, nine still tested positive for the disease, approximately one in fifteen people.
In a related editorial Robert D. Kirkcaldy, M.D., M.P.H., of the Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, and colleagues commented the following on failure of cephalosporin to treat gonorrhea:
The threat of drug-resistant gonorrhea is increasing and has reached
North America. Clinicians, drug developers, and public health
professionals must act now.
In October of 2011 The Health Protection Agency, UK announced that
gonorrhea was becoming more drug resistant. The study showed treatment
failure with use of cefixime. The agency recommended a combination of
ceftriaxone by inject with oral azithromycin. Symptoms of gonorrhea in men include:
Testicular swelling and/or pain
Burning during urination
Yellow, green, or white discharge from the penis
Symtoms of gonorrhea in women include:
Spotting after intercourse
Pain in the pelvic region
Vulvitis (swelling of the vulva)
Pain or burning during urination
Yellow, green, or white vaginal discharge
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Written by Kelly Fitzgerald