Friday, July 8, 2011

CDC: Untreatable Gonorrhea Now a Possibility

This is sad and disturbing, but cannot reasonably be called unexpected.

From WebMD Health News:

CDC: Untreatable Gonorrhea a Possibility
Resistance to Last Gonorrhea Drug Class Is Emerging
By Salynn Boyles

July 7, 2011 -- The CDC is warning that gonorrhea resistant to known antibiotic treatments could soon be a reality in the United States.

A report in Friday’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report highlights gonorrhea's declining susceptibility to cephalosporins, which is the only remaining class of antibiotics available to treat the common sexually transmitted disease (STD).

While cephalosporin treatment failures have not been documented in the U.S., CDC officials say they are seeing “concerning trends” that suggest such failures are not far off....


The analysis revealed that:

• While the overall number of test samples that were found to have decreased susceptibility to cefixime was small, a concerning increase was seen in recent years -- from 0.02% in 2000 through 2006 to 0.11% in 2009 and 2010.
Twelve of the 13 specimens from 2009-2010 with decreased susceptibility to cefixime were from men who have sex with men.
• The Western United States saw the biggest elevations in declining susceptibility; Hawaii had the biggest increases during the period (from 0% to 7.7%), followed by California (0% to 4.5%).


All emphases added. h/t Instapundit

Posted by Gibbons

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