Antibiotic Resistant Strain of Gonorrhea Now in North America

My friends before you ‘unlike’ our page, I wanted to point out that our job here is to educate and inform everyone about HIV/AIDS other STI/STD’s that occur with risky behavior. I know this isn’t the best subject to talk about near lunchtime so I apologize in advance. This is one I have been watching on our radar about how ‘new strains’ of STI/STD’s are becoming resistant to antibiotics.  This is a very scary thing to think about with advances in medicine and germs also becoming tougher to treat.

If you’re happily married or in a monogamous relationship, your chances of catching an STI/STD are remote. But if you or someone you know are involved in risky behaviors then you need to take precautions with condoms for exactly these reasons. Here’s the latest on Gonorrhea, which is a tough germ to beat. Over the past 70 years, the bug has outwitted four classes of antibiotics, leaving just one set of drugs available to kill it.

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection (STISTD). It is caused by infection with the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. It infects warm, moist areas of the body, including:

• the urethra (the tube that drains urine from the urinary bladder)
• the eyes
• throat
• vagina
• anus
• reproductive tract (the fallopian tubes, cervix, and uterus in women)

Now there’s more evidence that the arsenal against gonorrhea is shrinking again.Canadian doctors have documented the first failure in North America of cefixime, the front-line antibiotic for gonorrhea. That’s not good news. We had seen stories from Europe about this ‘antibiotic resistant strain and wondered how soon it would hit the USA. Well, its’ here now. .

“We’ve heard of such cases in Asia and Europe. Now it’s happening in North America,” Dr. Robert Kirkcaldy of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. “It’s very concerning.” Although the study was small – the doctors looked at only 133 cases total — nearly 7% of patients failed to be cured by the standard dose of cefixime, sold under the brand-name Suprax. The findings are published in the current issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association

Gonorrhea is the second-most common sexually transmitted disease in the U.S. “People are often surprised that gonorrhea is still around,” Kirkcaldy says. “It’s an ancient disease, but it’s surprisingly common in some parts of the U.S.” The good news is, those Canadian patients eventually recovered when they were given larger doses of cefixime or a related antibiotic. Nevertheless, there have been worrying signs of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea in the U.S. How long before we see cases here locally in Winchester, VA? Our HIV infection rate is climbing in the State of Virginia along with all STI/STD. So its just a matter of time before this new strain spreads across the country. Then what will the CDC do if antibiotics aren’t working?

For decades, CDC scientists have been keeping a close eye on gonorrhea strains around the country. They’ve taken samples of the bugs from patients and tested how much cefixime is needed to kill them in the lab. The effective dose of cefixime has crept up slowly over the past ten years. The CDC got concerned enough about the trend in August that officials told doctors to stop using cefixime altogether and switch to a related drug called ceftriaxone, or Rochephin. The CDC is looking to preserve cefixime’s effectiveness.

Some doctors, like Dr. Vanessa Allen of Public Health Ontario, worry that gonorrhea will quickly acquire resistance to this other antibiotic, as well, especially since it works by a similar mechanism as cefixime. “We need to rethink our strategy of antibiotic use,” Allen, who led the JAMA study says. “We don’t have luxury of just switching to another antibiotic,” she says because there really aren’t any more left for gonorrhea.

As the CDC works toward new antibiotics, the best course beside abstinence is condoms, condoms and condoms. Use them properly and every time. Know your partners and get tested with your primary health care provider annually. Or if you have any symptoms that could be a possible STI/STD to get checked up immediately. Your health matters.

Tom Thayer