“European report warns XDR gonorrhea threatens future treatment”

“European health officials are warning that three recently reported cases of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) gonorrhea highlight an emerging global threat and indicate a need for action to preserve the last remaining effective treatment for the infection.

In a Rapid Risk Assessment published yesterday, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said the three cases of XDR Neisseria gonorrhoeae reported in the United Kingdom and Australia are the first global reports of gonorrhea with resistance to ceftriaxone and high-level resistance to azithromycin, along with resistance to several other antibiotics. The dual therapy of ceftriaxone and azithromycin is the recommended first-line treatment for gonorrhea, which has developed resistance to most other antibiotics.

“These events give significant cause for concern considering the lack of alternative treatments for gonorrhoea,” the authors of the report wrote.”

Source: CIDRAP