Doctors in the United Kingdom have revealed “huge concern” over the super-gonorrhea spreading across the country and from straight couples to gay men.
Cases of this symptomless condition have been found in the West Midlands, London and South England. The 34 cases so far confirmed in the lab are possibly only the tip of the iceberg.
Last year, the superbug prompted a national alert as it surfaced in Leeds, where one of the main treatments for it had become ineffective. Public Health England (PHE) deemed other measures against the outbreak had not been completely successful.
Could gonorrhea, which potentially leads to infertility, become untreatable soon?
“We’ve been worried it would spread to men who have sex with men,” says Bristol-based sexual health consultant Peter Greenhouse in a BBC report, warning that gay populations tend to more rapidly spread the infection because of changing partners more quickly.
Gonorrhea could also be in their throats, where resistance is more likely to thrive as antibiotic treatments reach the organ in lower concentrations. Throats also harbor other bacteria that can transmit the drug resistance.
Azithromycin and ceftriaxone are the combination drugs used to fight the gonorrhea-causing bacterium, but now resistance to the former is spreading and threatening even the latter.
“[W]e cannot afford to be complacent,” warns Dr. Gwenda Hughes of PHE. “If strains of gonorrhea emerge that are resistant to both [medications], treatment options would be limited as there is currently no new antibiotic available to treat the infection.”
Gonorrhea stems from the Neisseria gonorrhoeae or gonococcus bacteria, also formerly known as “the clap.” Primarily found in penile and vaginal discharge, it is quickly passed between individuals through unprotected sex and sharing of adult toys that have not been protected with a condom or washed.
About one in 10 infected males and nearly half of infected females do not exhibit symptoms, such as a thick yellow or green discharge from the genitals, pain during urination and bleeding between menstrual periods.
Even babies can be infected in the womb and be at risk of permanent blindness.
Hughes advised the use of condoms with all sexual partners to “significantly reduce” one’s gonorrhea risk, and to test for sexually transmitted infections regularly to identify the problem early on. It is also recommended to reduce one’s sexual partners as well as avoid overlapping sexual relationships.
An ongoing campaign seeks to find the sexual partners of people with super-gonorrhea, although a PHE report acknowledges its “limited success” – only 22 of 50 partners were followed up successfully, and a staggering 94 percent tested carried the infection.
A new tool from the health department will also soon help doctors cut the number of prescribed antibiotics to help curb resistance. It will pave the way for practices that will check how antibiotic-prescribing methods compare with other measures.
Photo: NIAID | Flickr
