Gonorrhea risks becoming a superbug, expert warns

From CTV News:
The bacteria responsible for the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea are becoming so resistant to antibiotics in some parts of the world, they may soon reach superbug status, experts are warning.

Catherine Ison, a professor at the Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections in London, presented a report this week at the Society for General Microbiology Spring Meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland, discussing the growing problem of antibiotic resistance among gonorrhea.

She highlighted the possibility that strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae will soon become resistant to all current treatment options.

Ison said some strains of gonorrhea-causing bacteria are now showing decreased sensitivity to the current antibiotics used to treat them: ceftriaxone and cefixime.

"Ceftriaxone and cefixime are still very effective but there are signs that resistance particularly to cefixime is emerging and soon these drugs may not be a good choice," she said in a statement released by the Society for General Microbiology. ...more/