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Bad bug: Gonorrhea strain resists all antibiotics
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43689581/ns/health-sexual_health/
7/11/11
For several years, public health officials have been concerned that gonorrhea, one of the most prevalent STDs in the world, might become resistant to the last widely available antibiotics used to treat it, a class of drugs called cephalosporins.
Now, it has.
In the space of one week, infectious disease specialists have received a one-two punch of bad news that confirms those fears, including the discovery of a new, cephalosporin-resistant strain of the bacteria.
The percentage of U.S. gonorrhea cases that are resistant to the two cephalosporins used to treat it, cefixime, taken orally, and ceftriaxone, injected, is on the rise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
The Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project, a lookout program designed to spot resistance, found that 1.4 percent of patient samples showed growing ability to defeat cefixime in 2010 compared to just .2 percent in 2000. Resistance to ceftiaxone grew from .1 percent to .3 percent during the same period.
Then Sunday, a Japanese-European team presenting data at the International Society for Sexually Transmitted Disease Research meeting in Quebec City, Canada, publicly announced the discovery of a new strain of gonorrhea, H041, that displays a strong resistance to ceftriaxone.
"This is both an alarming and a predictable discovery," said one of the project's lead researchers, Dr. Magnus Unemo of the Swedish Reference Laboratory for Pathogenic Neisseria.
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H041, first found in a the pharynx of a Japanese sex worker, is 4- to 8-fold more resistant to ceftriaxone — the only form of cephalosporin used to treat that type of gonorrhea in the throat — than any strain ever found.
Resistant strain could arrive in U.S. soon
When researchers grew H041 with other gonorrhea strains, genetic recombination increased those strains’ resistance by up to 500-fold.
“Why this is so concerning is that there are no other treatment options besides cephalosporins right now,” said Dr. Kimberly Workowski, an STD infection expert at Emory University. “For pharyngeal infection, oral drugs do not work and ceftiaxone is the only injectable.”
What’s more, she explained, if history is any guide, the H041 strain will soon arrive in the U.S.
Workowski and other experts stressed that it’s too soon to panic. By increasing dosages —though at greater risk of toxic side effects — and combining the cephalosporins with azithromycin or doxycycline, both strategies the CDC began recommending last year, the vast majority of gonorrhea cases will be effectively treated for now.
But, said Dr. Edward Hook, professor of medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, experts face a serious and growing problem that will be debated.
"Could we be developing a problem that is far worse and more problematic? Absolutely," said, Hook, an author of the MMWR report. "It is something that needs to be attended to not just for gonorrhea but for other” bacterial infections for which antibiotic resistance is growing.
7/11/11
For several years, public health officials have been concerned that gonorrhea, one of the most prevalent STDs in the world, might become resistant to the last widely available antibiotics used to treat it, a class of drugs called cephalosporins.
Now, it has.
In the space of one week, infectious disease specialists have received a one-two punch of bad news that confirms those fears, including the discovery of a new, cephalosporin-resistant strain of the bacteria.
The percentage of U.S. gonorrhea cases that are resistant to the two cephalosporins used to treat it, cefixime, taken orally, and ceftriaxone, injected, is on the rise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
The Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project, a lookout program designed to spot resistance, found that 1.4 percent of patient samples showed growing ability to defeat cefixime in 2010 compared to just .2 percent in 2000. Resistance to ceftiaxone grew from .1 percent to .3 percent during the same period.
Then Sunday, a Japanese-European team presenting data at the International Society for Sexually Transmitted Disease Research meeting in Quebec City, Canada, publicly announced the discovery of a new strain of gonorrhea, H041, that displays a strong resistance to ceftriaxone.
"This is both an alarming and a predictable discovery," said one of the project's lead researchers, Dr. Magnus Unemo of the Swedish Reference Laboratory for Pathogenic Neisseria.
Advertise | AdChoices
.
H041, first found in a the pharynx of a Japanese sex worker, is 4- to 8-fold more resistant to ceftriaxone — the only form of cephalosporin used to treat that type of gonorrhea in the throat — than any strain ever found.
Resistant strain could arrive in U.S. soon
When researchers grew H041 with other gonorrhea strains, genetic recombination increased those strains’ resistance by up to 500-fold.
“Why this is so concerning is that there are no other treatment options besides cephalosporins right now,” said Dr. Kimberly Workowski, an STD infection expert at Emory University. “For pharyngeal infection, oral drugs do not work and ceftiaxone is the only injectable.”
What’s more, she explained, if history is any guide, the H041 strain will soon arrive in the U.S.
Workowski and other experts stressed that it’s too soon to panic. By increasing dosages —though at greater risk of toxic side effects — and combining the cephalosporins with azithromycin or doxycycline, both strategies the CDC began recommending last year, the vast majority of gonorrhea cases will be effectively treated for now.
But, said Dr. Edward Hook, professor of medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, experts face a serious and growing problem that will be debated.
"Could we be developing a problem that is far worse and more problematic? Absolutely," said, Hook, an author of the MMWR report. "It is something that needs to be attended to not just for gonorrhea but for other” bacterial infections for which antibiotic resistance is growing.
@ teko!! They do!!! I mean I belong to the Teen pregnancy forum here and I SMH and cringe every time a question is asked b/c they are NOT informed. They get these "morning after pills" or antibiotics to cure itching or bumps or whatever may be the problem then come to the forum to ask how to use them....But then again, if the Dr's didn't just hand these antibiotics and pills out, they wouldn't make any money!!!! Why wouldn't they hand it out like candy. The kids are young naive and most likely the parents have NO CLUE b/c they go to the clinics where their parents don't have to know about it!!
Just use precaution and one day you will be old and the hormones, or lack of em will take care of it. In the meantime, quit using antibiotics for everything under the sun as a cure all. This is what causes this problem to begin with. Ever notice how docs hand it out to kids like its candy?
@ EL, IDK if i could practice abstinence. Could you? It's an excellent idea BUT is it realistic? I think for the average person, sex is not needed but preferred..LOL
Honestly, I think it boils down to the person..I mean there is sooo much information out there in protecting yourself and being safe, yet people still have unprotected sex with random people and then wonder why they have an STD. Even in a monogamous relationship, if you're going to have unprotected sex, get tested before you do. If you're going to cheat WEAR A CONDOM (not that I condone cheating but hey it happens)...Boggles my mind!!!
Honestly, I think it boils down to the person..I mean there is sooo much information out there in protecting yourself and being safe, yet people still have unprotected sex with random people and then wonder why they have an STD. Even in a monogamous relationship, if you're going to have unprotected sex, get tested before you do. If you're going to cheat WEAR A CONDOM (not that I condone cheating but hey it happens)...Boggles my mind!!!
Abstinence... problem solved (for those of us that have yet to contract the STD).
For those that already have it? ~scratches head~
Abstinence to stop the spread? Just thinking out loud.
Mother-Nature is a b1tch, and we all knew this had to happen at some point. Eventually, ALL "bugs" are going to adapt to the antibiotics with which we currently treat them. It's natures way after all. Survival of the fittest, and all that.
That's how WE all got where we are today. Mother-nature adapted us to our living environment/conditions, and we evolved into the creatures we are today.
Seems like we humans can't catch a break.
Between our global health issues/concerns, wars being fought, global economic concerns, political infighting within our borders, climate-change (whether you think it's man-made or not)... we seem to be in a bit of trouble!
For those that already have it? ~scratches head~
Abstinence to stop the spread? Just thinking out loud.
Mother-Nature is a b1tch, and we all knew this had to happen at some point. Eventually, ALL "bugs" are going to adapt to the antibiotics with which we currently treat them. It's natures way after all. Survival of the fittest, and all that.
That's how WE all got where we are today. Mother-nature adapted us to our living environment/conditions, and we evolved into the creatures we are today.
Seems like we humans can't catch a break.
Between our global health issues/concerns, wars being fought, global economic concerns, political infighting within our borders, climate-change (whether you think it's man-made or not)... we seem to be in a bit of trouble!
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