Scientists have discovered a new strain of bacteria that cause gonorrhea in Japan that is resistant to available treatments.
Since the 1940s, sexually transmitted disease known as "the coup" was easily treated with antibiotics. But the new strain of Neisseria gonorrhoeae has genetically mutated to escape cephalosporins - the only antibiotics still effective against infection.
"It is both an alarming rate and a predictable finding," lead researcher Magnus Unemo, professor at the Swedish Reference Laboratory for pathogenic Neisseria in Örebro, Sweden, said in a statement. "Since antibiotics became the standard treatment for gonorrhea in the 1940s, this bacterium has shown a remarkable ability to develop mechanisms of resistance to all drugs introduced to control it. "
The discovery, announced by Unemo the International Society for Research Meeting sexually transmitted diseases in Quebec City, Canada, could hail gonorrhea curable STDs transition to the global threat to public health.
"While it is too early to assess whether this new strain has become widespread, the history of newly emerging resistance in bacteria suggests that it can spread rapidly unless new drugs and effective treatment programs are developed, "said Unemo in a statement.
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