A strain of multidrug-resistant gonorrhea (sexually transmitted infection) has been identified in England in a young man returning from South East Asia.
Summer will be hot, but not in a good way. According to Public Health England (PHE), the body in charge of public health across the Channel, a case of super-resistant gonorrhea has just been identified on Her Majesty’s territory. The offending strain seems to have been brought back to our latitudes by a young Briton of 28, returning from a trip to Southeast Asia.
According to PHE, it is the first strain of gonococcus that is both highly resistant to azithromycin, the common first-line oral treatment, and resistant to ceftriaxone, an injectable antibiotic considered to be of last resort in management of gonorrhea. This discovery confirms a fear already expressed by the British health authorities.
As for the unfortunate young man, he is currently being treated with intravenous carbapenem, an antibiotic treatment usually reserved for serious multiresistant urinary tract infections.
Global upsurge
Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection caused by a bacteria called the gonococcus. It results in a burning sensation during urination – hence its nickname “hot-piss” – and sometimes by yellowish discharge. The signs usually appear within 2 to 5 days in men, twice as much in women. Sometimes the disease is asymptomatic, but it is still transmissible.
The development of multidrug-resistant gonorrhea has been a growing problem in recent years. According to the WHO, strains resistant to ceftriaxone (the last resort antibiotic) have been identified in more than 50 countries. Originating in East Asia, resistant strains have spread recently, mainly through sex tourism, with a few confirmed cases in North America (Canada in 2017) and Europe (Denmark in 2017).
Untreated gonorrhea can lead to complications, with a risk of infertility, or even in the most serious cases, disseminated infections giving rise to arthritis, skin infections, meningitis … The best way to to protect against it remains to this day the use of condoms.
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