Physical Wellness

Super Gonorrhea' In The UK Resists Drug Treatment; May Spread In The US

By Jenn Loro | Update Date: Jan 02, 2016 08:40 PM EST

Health authorities in the UK have raised the alarm over the possibility of a new and deadly strain of 'super gonorrhea' recently discovered to be resistant to antibiotics. The stern warning was issued amid fears that the risk of 'untreatable super gonorrhea' may find itself spreading into the United States.

UK's top medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, reported that cases of an untreatable super gonorrhea were documented in the City of Leeds in North Central England. British experts noted that the new strain of gonorrhea did not react to the prescribed medication of two-antibiotic cocktail usually prescribed to treat the sexually transmitted disease (STD).

"Gonorrhea is at risk of becoming an untreatable disease due to the continuing emergence of antimicrobial resistance," remarked Davies in a letter to all physicians and drug stores strongly advising that they prescribe the right combination of antibiotics to gonorrhea patients as quoted by CBS News.

Experts observe that the disease is quite adaptable. The threat of a drug resistant gonorrhea is very real. If it shows up in the UK, it could surface elsewhere.

Currently, the only existing medication available to serious cases of gonorrhea as recommended by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) involved two antibiotics, ceftriaxone and azithromycin, as mentioned by Market Watch.

If the disease stops responding to the foregoing treatment, it could result in life-threatening conditions such as blood-related complications, infertility, severe inflammation, and a number of illnesses affecting the reproductive system.

According to RT News, gonorrhea infections have seen a steep decline in the US for many years before the numbers start spiking up again in 2009. In a data by CDC, there are about 350, 000 cases of STD documented annually but the estimated figure could be as high as 820, 000 every year.

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