The sexually transmitted infection (STI) gonorrhoea has proved resistant to a specific antibiotic used in a Canadian study. The oral antibiotic cexifime failed to cure the STI in around 7% of cases in the Toronto study.
Antibiotics have been used to treat gonorrhoea and other STIs since the 1940s. However, over the decades the infection has successfully seen off different antibiotics used to kill the bacteria and the particular strain seen in Toronto has been shown to be resistant to cexifime in other countries in recent times.
The results of the Toronto study were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and is thought to be the first North American example of cexifime treatment failing to treat gonorrhoea.
The nine patients in the study group were eventually cured of gonorrhoea with a combination of different antibiotics, some injectable and some oral.
In the US and across Europe, cexifime is no longer used to treat gonorrhoea and instead injectable antibiotics are now given for the STI. However, Canadian doctors have expressed concern that removing the option of an oral drug may make those who have the STI less inclined to seek diagnosis and treatment, fearing the process may be too lengthy.
Without taking samples of bacteria from patients to test if they are resistant or susceptible to the antibiotics, there is no way of knowing exactly how widespread the resistant strain of gonorrhoea has become.
Gonorrhoea is commonly referred to as “the clap” and is a virulently infectious and life-threatening disease that can cause infertility in men and women. When left untreated, it can be fatal.
The consequences of not having antibiotics that can cure the infection are very severe. Clinicians are focusing on preventative measures, promoting the safe-sex message and use of condoms to prevent the spread of STIs.
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