Untreatable gonorrhea is spreading in China, study finds
2018-02-08
Shanghaiist
Shanghaiist
What’s worse than gonorrhea? “Untreatable gonorrhea.”
Usually, the sexually transmitted disease is treated with two types of antibiotics: ceftriaxone by injection or azithromycin by mouth. However, a recent study published in Plos Medicine, which sampled nearly 4,000 cases of gonorrhea from around China, found that 19% were resistant to azithromycin, 11% to ceftriaxone, and 3.3% to both.
That last percentage is up from 1.9% in 2013.
While that may not be a huge jump, it’s part of a trend of increased antibiotic resistance that the infection has shown. A number of antibiotics were once used to treat gonorrhea, but are no longer recommended because of high rates of resistance. The worry is that both azithromycin and ceftriaxone are beginning to go that way as well.
According to a World Health Organization report from last year, 97% of countries surveyed from 2009 to 2014 found drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea, while 66% of those countries also reported the emergence of strains resistant to last-resort drug treatments.
“Ceftriaxone is the last drug that we have for the treatment of gonorrhea. We don’t have any replacement drugs after ceftriaxone right now,” Vanessa Allen, chief of medical microbiology at Public Health Ontario, told The Verge, which first reported on the study.
“It’s almost like the bug is running faster than our ability to develop safe and effective drugs,” Allen continued. “What is the next chapter if no new drugs are developed? And it’s really not clear.”
Of course, the study’s findings are also worrying considering China’s abysmal sex education system and the high number of condoms sold here that aren’t up to safety standards.
The good news is that scientists are currently hard at work developing new methods of treatment, trying to stay one step ahead of the infection. For example, earlier this week, researchers at Oregon State University announced important new findings that help shed more light on the so-called “super bug,” paving the way for new antibiotics, or even, a vaccine.
Of course, if all else fails there’s always this knockoff Iron Man, created by a Guangzhou pharmaceutical company in 2013, who can simply blast away your gonorrhea.
▼ WATCH: Rooftop daredevils jump between buildings in Hong Kong
▼ ‘Despacito’ now has a Chinese-Spanish version!
▼ 5-yr visa available for ethnic Chinese foreigners in February
▼ Enchant your loved ones with these Valentine's Day deals
▼ Never have a bad lunch again with this semi-buffet meal!
▼ Ladies get free premium margaritas every Wednesday at Zapata’s!
▼ See the beauty of East China this CNY!
▼ Enjoy Shanghai at its best with this staycation!
