Drug-resistant gonorrhea has been on the rise globally for years. Now scientists say the epidemic is being driven by a particular mode of transmission: oral sex. Only one commercially available antibiotic still consistently works against drug-resistant strains. And now there's a new worry: so-called super gonorrhea.
From the New York Times:
The infection used to be cured by a variety of antibiotics, but the bacteria adapt quickly. Some strains have built up resistance to all but one treatment: an injection of an extended-spectrum cephalosporin paired with an oral form of azithromycin.
Even that is no longer a sure bet. There have been three cases of so-called super gonorrhea — in Japan, France and Spain — that resisted that treatment, too.
That does not necessarily mean that super gonorrhea is incurable, Dr. Alirol said. But doctors may have to resort to “off-label” treatments that haven't been properly tested in humans — much higher doses of antibiotics, for instance, or older or stronger drugs.
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