World Health Organization: Untreatable gonorrhea on the rise
An estimated 78 million people contract gonorrhea each year, says WHO of the sexually transmitted infection (STI) that was once easily treated.
"The bacteria that cause gonorrhea are particularly smart," said WHO spokesperson Dr. Teodora Wi in a press release. "Every time we use a new class of antibiotics to treat the infection, the bacteria evolve to resist them."
WHO researchers, whose findings were published in two separate studies this month, discovered that first-line antibiotics were ineffective in 50 of the 77 countries they analyzed. Resistance is also increasing in second and third-line treatments, the researchers found. Three strains of the STI were found to be resistance to all antibiotics.
"These cases may just be the tip of the iceberg, since systems to diagnose and report untreatable infections are lacking in lower-income countries where gonorrhea is actually more common," Wi said.
New WHO guidelines for the treatment of gonorrhea advise doctors to administer two antibiotics –ceftriaxone and azithromycin. The researchers also stressed the need to develop new tools and systems for more effective prevention, treatment and diagnosis, though "the development of new antibiotics is not very attractive for commercial pharmaceutical companies."
Gonorrhea spreads through unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex, as well as the sharing of sex toys that have not been properly sanitized. A common symptom of the infection is discharge from the urethra or vagina, but many of those who contract gonorrhea experience no symptoms at all. Although not deadly, the disease can cause a host of health problems if left untreated, including infertility.
In response to the increasingly antibiotic-resistant strains of the infection, WHO and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative have launched the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP), a non-profit research and development organization tasked with developing new antibiotics and promoting appropriate use of treatments.
"To address the pressing need for new treatments for gonorrhea, we urgently need to seize the opportunities we have with existing drugs and candidates in the pipeline," said GARDP Director Dr. Manica Balasegaram. "Any new treatment developed should be accessible to everyone who needs it, while ensuring it's used appropriately, so that drug resistance is slowed as much as possible."