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Action needed to combat treatment-resistant gonorrhea, experts say

Category: Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Doctors are increasingly seeing cases of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea, and experts are saying urgent action is needed to avert a public health crisis. This could prevent many new positive STD tests.

Gonorrhea is one of the more common STDs. In the past, it was easily and effectively treated with simple penicillin. However, in the last couple of years, doctors have been seeing more cases of individuals whose condition does not improve with antibiotics. When the infection is untreated, it can cause pain and inflammation in the pelvic area and may eventually lead to death.

To counteract this problem, A group of researchers recently wrote in the Canadian Medical Association Journal that public health groups must take swift action to minimize the problem. This could include educational campaigns targeted at high-risk groups as well as making STD testing services more available.

"The specter of widespread multiresistant gonorrhea demands an urgent public health, community and individual response," the team wrote in their report. "Without action, we are heading back to the pre-antibiotic era, with an escalation in the number of deaths from other multiresistant organisms as well as rampant gonococcal infections."