Georgia, United States – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a news release stating that the bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae, responsible for causing gonorrhea, is developing antibiotic-resistant to one of the few effective antibiotics left, azithromycin.

However, we all know antibiotics are supposed to be used only when needed as prescribed by health professionals since their indiscriminate use may lead bacteria to acquire resistance to it. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a report on 2014 addressing this issue. The moment the report was released, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, now Special Representative for Antimicrobial Resistance in the office of the WHO Director-General, stated a converging point for medicine in the near future.

The so-called Sex Superbug directly threatens people living in the United States as the antibiotic-resistant gene gets passed exponentially. Image Credit: Think Progress
The so-called Sex Superbug directly threatens people living in the United States as the antibiotic-resistant gene gets passed exponentially. Image Credit: Think Progress

“The world is headed for a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries which have been treatable for decades can once again kill,” said Dr. Fukuda in a statement.

In that report, the WHO had already denounced that treatment failure to the last resort of treatment for gonorrhea” had been confirmed in many parts of the world.

The STI had already developed resistance to penicillin, tetracycline, and fluoroquinolones, and in 2010 Takashi Deguchi published an article in The Journal of Urology, Volume 184, Issue 3, discussing the bacteria growing resistance to cefixime and azithromycin. And in 2012 The New Yorker denounced the increasing resistance to ceftriaxone.

Looking ahead of the curb to prevent further propagation of the ‘Sex Bug’

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added their study to the mix, confirming the bacteria is in the early stages of becoming resistant to the azithromycin as published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

As it was stated, the resistance is in the “early stages,” which means patients should keep with their treatment of azithromycin combined with ceftriaxone. Nonetheless, prevention is important and infections are on the rise. Regular tests should be done, to prevent further cases, since half of the women have no symptoms, which are also true for 10% of the men; and as with many other STIs, condoms are the best way of preventing the disease.

However, it is imperative to start looking for new ways to treat the STI, and at the same time, a prevention campaign should be issued: With fewer infections, the bacteria has less chance of becoming resistant.

Source: CNN