SWITZERLAND — As the cases of drug-resistant gonorrhoea surge worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) has sounded the alarm on this sexually transmitted disease (STD).
Neisseria gonorrhoea, a “priority microorganism” for antimicrobial resistance monitoring, is posing a grave challenge to global health.
Left untreated, it can cause serious health problems, particularly for women, including chronic pelvic pain, life-threatening ectopic pregnancy, and even infertility.
The latest WHO guidance on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) calls for urgent action, urging countries to enhance testing and diagnostic services.
Early detection, the agency emphasizes, is crucial to halt the spread of STIs, as untreated cases can lead to severe, irreversible outcomes, even proving fatal.
Various factors contribute to the surge in STI rates, including drug use, poverty, and the stigma attached to STDs and non-monogamous sexual conduct.
However, the implementation of awareness campaigns, condom use, and access to sexual health education can effectively reduce the prevalence of STIs.
From Australia to Asia, countries like Austria, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Ireland, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam are witnessing alarming rates of Neisseria gonorrhoea cases highly resistant to the antibiotic ceftriaxone.
While medication for gonorrhoea has been available for decades, the bacterium has grown resistant to nearly every drug ever used to treat it.
The enhanced gonorrhoea AMR surveillance (EGASP) reveals disturbing levels of resistance in Cambodia, where current treatment options like ceftriaxone, cefixime, and azithromycin face challenges.
With a staggering 82 million new cases reported globally each year in individuals aged 15 to 49, N. gonorrhoea presents a formidable foe.
Adding to the concern, this pathogen has evolved into a multidrug-resistant nightmare, defying even third-generation extended-spectrum cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones.
The global challenge of antibiotic resistance
In the race against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), N. gonorrhoea outpaces the development of new antibiotics.
The WHO places N. gonorrhoea at the forefront of AMR monitoring in its Global Antimicrobial Surveillance System, acknowledging the pressing need for drug development to combat this relentless threat.
Moreover, the new guidance seeks to make STI testing accessible and affordable, facilitating better data collection, and empowering the global community in the fight against this growing health crisis.
The over-reliance on antibiotics, including for non-bacterial infections, has hastened bacterial mutations, contributing to antibiotic resistance.
Alarmingly, antibiotic discovery has significantly declined since the 1950s, with no registered class of antibiotics discovered since 1984.
Beyond preventing and treating sexually transmitted diseases, the World Health Organization has a few suggestions for things doctors, patients and industry can do to fight back against antibiotic resistance.
To combat antibiotic resistance, the WHO recommends healthcare workers to avoid unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions, and patients should refrain from requesting antibiotics without confirmed bacterial infections.
Additionally, antibiotic use in animals, which contributes to resistance, must be addressed. The battle against drug-resistant gonorrhoea demands decisive and unified action as we stand on the precipice of a major public health catastrophe.
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