An international team of scientists reported today in Eurosurveillance that the three extensively drug-resistant (XDR) gonorrhea cases identified in Australia and the United Kingdom in 2018 were caused by a single XDR clone.
Annual sentinel surveillance of Neisseria gonorrhea isolates in 25 European countries has found decreasing susceptibility to ceftriaxone, according to a study yesterday in BMC Infectious Diseases.
The drug, zoliflodacin, was highly effective in treating urogenital and rectal infections but not pharyngeal cases.
The arrival of the inevitable untreatable cases is being sped up by rising rates of gonorrhea and other STDs.
The new data mark a 4th straight year of "steep and sustained" increases.
The UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) yesterday announced the launch of a £10 million ($13 million) research competition to fund innovative efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Men had higher expression of antimicrobial resistance genes, a finding that may have implications for the growing threat of resistant gonorrhea.
The results show a wide diversity of gonorrhea strains both within and among nations.
The cases indicate a need for action to preserve the last remaining effective treatment.
UK officials today report good news on the outcome of the man treated for a highly resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection, but they also note two similar cases in Australia.
