A U. K. man’s infection with the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea is the first known case of the bacteria being resistant to all first-line treatment drugs and many other antibiotics.
Being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection is bad news in the best of cases – but one British man’s case of gonorrhea may be one of the worst in the world.
Public Health England reported in March that a U. K. man’s infection, which he picked up after a sexual encounter with a woman in southeast Asia, is the first ever that cannot be cured with the standard treatment for the disease.
“We are investigating a case who has gonorrhea which was acquired abroad and is very resistant to the recommended first line treatment,” said Dr. Gwenda Hughes of Public Health England, in a news release. “This is the first time a case has displayed such high-level resistance to both of these drugs and to most other commonly used antibiotics.”
Gonorrhea is a type of sexually transmitted disease that can spread through unprotected oral, anal or vaginal sex.
In men, it can cause infections in the genitals, rectum and throat, and can cause symptoms like burning sensations when urinating and green, white or yellow discharge from the genitals (along with pain), according to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control. Women often have no symptoms, but can report pain, bleeding and discharge in the genitals as well.
If untreated, the disease can become dangerous and lead to infertility or other secondary infections, some of which could even be life threatening, the CDC says.
For years, the infection has been a mostly an easily-curable annoyance. But this British man’s case appears to be resistant to both the main anti-gonorrhea drugs azithromycin and ceftriaxone, which are often used in combination. It’s also resistant to most other antibiotics, Public Health England reported.
The man is now being treated with a third drug, called ertapenem, though scientists won’t know how well it’s working for another few weeks.
Disease researchers have been sounding the alarm about antibiotic-resistant drugs for several years. In 2016, an outbreak of “super gonorrhea” spread across England and infected several dozen people. That and other outbreaks prompted the World Health Organization to issue a warning about the rise of drug-resistant gonorrhea, NBC reported.
“The bacteria that cause gonorrhea are particularly smart. Every time we use a new class of antibiotics to treat the infection, the bacteria evolve to resist them,” said WHO reproduction specialist Teodora Wi in 2017.
The U. S. hasn’t been spared either. In 2017, the CDC reported a record increase in sexually transmitted diseases across the nation – the third straight year it saw increases.
Now Public Health England says it is going back through the man’s encounters to see if anyone else has been infected.
“We are following up this case to ensure that the infection was effectively treated with other options and the risk of any onward transmission is minimized,” Hughes wrote.
She emphasized that the most important thing to do was to prevent the transmission of the bacteria. As it gets more difficult to cure, it becomes more important to protect yourself from getting it in the first place.
“It is better to avoid getting or passing on gonorrhea in the first place and everyone can significantly reduce their risk by using condoms consistently and correctly with all new and casual partners,” Hughes wrote.
