The global health organization says the lack of rapid diagnostic tests results in undertreatment and overtreatment of gonorrhea in low-resource nations
Most of the infections have been acquired abroad, and transmission in England has been limited, but officials are worried about the potential for wider spread.
The proportion of cases showing resistance or decreased susceptibility to two different antimicrobials nearly doubled from 2020 to 2021.
The money will help Prompt Diagnostics LLC develop a portable PCR test that can detect the presence of ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhea.
A surveillance study found a threefold increase in extensively drug-resistant gonorrhea isolates.
New surveillance data from Europe show a significant rise in azithromycin-resistant gonorrhea in 2022, along with the detection of 2 ceftriaxone-resistant samples.
Diagnostics and health technology company Scout say its test can detect gonorrhea infections in 30 minutes, at less than half the cost of other options.
Data from a phase 3 trial show the antibiotic gepotidacin had a 92.6% microbiologic success rate and was non-inferior to the standard gonorrhea treatment.
WHO researchers say the findings are of "grave concern" for Cambodia and from an international perspective.
The prevalence of ceftriaxone-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates nearly tripled in China from 2017 through 2022.