A concerning new study has revealed that common sexually transmitted infections like gonorrhea are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotic treatments posing a major threat to public health. Gonorrhea, also known as ‘the clap’, is usually treated with antibiotics but researchers have found that the bacteria which causes the infection is growing resistant to the drugs used to cure it.
According to findings published in a leading medical journal, treatment failure rates have nearly doubled in recent years for the commonly used antibiotics azithromycin and cefixime. This means the drugs are less effective at clearing up the infection, leaving patients still infected even after treatment. Experts warn that if resistance keeps rising, we could face a scenario where gonorrhea becomes untreatable with the currently available options.
The study analyzed data from over 80,000 gonorrhea patients from 29 countries. It found that treatment failures increased from 1.4% to 2.7% between 2012-2017 indicating the bacteria has developed higher resistance in this short span of five years alone. Health officials are especially concerned as gonorrhea is among the most common STIs in several regions of the world with over 78 million new cases annually. If antibiotics fail, complications up to pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility can occur. Women are also twice as likely to face health issues from an resistant infection compared to men.
Experts advise practicing safe sex and getting tested regularly to curb the spread of resistant strains. With antibiotic resistance increasing across bacterial infections, urgent R&D efforts are also needed to develop new drugs that can replace older therapies that are losing effectiveness each year. Public health professionals warn this is a looming threat if not addressed proactively through prevention programs, antibiotic stewardship and new treatment innovation.
