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A New Antibiotic-Resistant Strain Of Gonorrhea Could Become A Superbug—And It's Spreading

gonorrhea poster
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The World Health Organization warned doctors Wednesday to step up detection and treatment of gonorrhea after it was discovered that an antibiotic-resistant strain of the disease has spread to other countries, according to CBS.

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Recently, cases of H041 — the strain of gonorrhea that is resistant to cephalosporins — have been detected in Britain, Australia, France, Sweden and Norway. This is a sign that the resistant strain could also be present, yet undetected in other first-world health systems.

"This organism has basically been developing resistance against every medication we've thrown at it," WHO scientist Dr. Manjula Lusti-Narasimhan said to CBS. "In a couple of years, it will have become resistant to every treatment option we have available now."

Scientists conducting a Swedish Reference Laboratory study announced in July 2011 that they had discovered H041, prompting concern from around the world about gonorrhea potentially becoming a superbug, or a disease resistant to all forms of treatment.

Since then, the WHO has been aggressive in spreading awareness about gonorrhea and its treatment. Scientists believe that incorrect use of cephalosporins to treat gonorrhea has led to the antibiotic-resistant strain.

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Gonorrhea is the second most-common sexually transmitted disease, behind chlamydia. There are 106 million new cases of the disease annually.

Now, read about a disease that could be 'the new AIDS' >

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