Gonorrhea Superbug: Multi Drug Resistant STD Infection Strain Discovered

Scientists have found Gonorrhea Superbug, The first strain of gonorrhea resitant to antibiotic drugs. Gonorrhea Superbug is a discovery that is being taken as "Alarming and Predictable" by the pathologist all over the world. Because this could "transform a once easily treatable infection into a global public health threat.

Gonorrhea Superbug, the Multi Drug Resistant STD Infection H041 Strain discovered in Japan, is resistant to the cephalosporins class of antibiotics that is commonly used in the treatment of Gonorrhea infections.

The details of the discovery made by Dr. Magnus Unemo, Dr. Makoto Ohnishi, and colleagues will be presented at the 19th conference of the International Society for Sexually Transmitted Disease Research (ISSTDR) which runs July 10-13 in Quebec City, Canada.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that Gonorrhea has become increasingly resistant to antibiotics for several years now, and the percentage of cephalosporin-resistant gonorrhea cases in the U.S. is on the rise, according to the CDC Latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Here is an excerpt from the CDC report:

Gonorrhea, one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), can have serious health consequences, including infertility in women, and can increase a person’s risk for acquiring HIV.

While antibiotics can successfully treat gonorrhea, over time the bacteria has developed resistance to several of these drugs. CDC now recommends only one class of antibiotics, called cephalosporins. However, findings from the recent analysis signal the potential for resistance to cephalosporins, the last line of defense for treating gonorrhea.

The term superbug refers to a bacteria that's able to survive exposure to antibiotics most likely because it genetically evolved to resist them.

Gonorrhea Symptoms and Risks

Gonorrhea is asymptomatic in about 50% of infected women and approximately 2-5% of men. When symptomatic, it is characterized by a burning sensation when urinating and pus discharge from the genitals. If left untreated, gonorrhea can lead to serious and irreversible health complications in both women and men.

In women, the infection can cause chronic pelvic pain and ectopic pregnancy. It can lead to infertility, mostly in women but also in men, and it increases the risk of HIV transmission. In 3-4% of cases, untreated infections spread to the skin, blood, joints, or even the heart and can cause potentially mortal lesions. Babies born of infected mothers are at high risk of developing serious blood and joint infections, and passage through the birth canal of an infected mother can cause blindness in the infant.

Gonorrhea is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the world. In the U.S. alone, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of cases is estimated at 700,000 annually.