Scientists find first superbug strain of gonorrhea

Scientists have found a "superbug" strain of gonorrhea in Japan that is resistant to all recommended antibiotics and say it could transform a once easily treatable infection into a global public health threat.

The new strain of the sexually transmitted disease -- called H041 -- cannot be killed by any currently recommended treatments for gonorrhea, leaving doctors with no other option than to try medicines so far untested against the disease.

"Since antibiotics became the standard treatment for gonorrhea in the 1940s, this bacterium has shown a remarkable capacity to develop resistance mechanisms to all drugs introduced to control it," said Magnus Unemo of the Swedish Reference Laboratory for Pathogenic Neisseria

Gonorrhea is a bacterial sexually transmitted infection and if left untreated can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy and infertility in women.
It is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the world and is most prevalent in south and southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. In the United States alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of cases is estimated at around 700,000 a year.

Experts say that the best way to reduce the risk of even greater resistance developing -- beyond the urgent need to develop effective new drugs -- is to treat gonorrhea with combinations of two or more types of antibiotic at the same time.

Unemo said however that experience from previous degrees of resistance acquired by gonorrhea suggested this new multi-drug resistant strain could spread around the world within decades.

Scientists find first superbug strain of gonorrhea

This kind of news makes me grateful that I'm married. This is the reason why further study needs to take place on antibiotics. I remember as a kid my dad would tell the doctors to not prescribe us antibiotics unless it was absolutely necessary.He knew that it was better to build up our own immune system and that eventually their would be resistance bugs. I remember this from the 80's. Alot of doctors scoffed at him a few even threaten to call CPS. Who's stupid now. HA HA

When my father died I was going through some of his papers - he was an Army doctor in 1944 - 1946 -- I came across a directive from the Army Medical Corps [I believe) It said to avoid using antibiotics unless required to avoid muting their effect. So this has been a known effect since about the git go.

I know a lot of people who demand that the doctor prescribe antibiotics for a cold (totally ineffective for a virus). In Russia they are over the counter drugs.

Ten percent of your bodies dry weight is made up of bacteria - most of it productive and necessary to life. If you have a good grop going it dosent make sense to kill it. I am 61 years old -- have taken antibiotics twice. I never get sick or have infected wounds. If you take antibiotics please take the whole course as directed.