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THE WORLD HEALTH Organisation has warned that urgent action is needed to prevent to spread of a strain of untreatable gonorrhoea, which could potentially effect millions of people.
The WHO says that each year an estimated 106 million people are infected with gonorrhea, which is transmitted through sexual contact. Several countries – including Australia, France, Japan, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom – have reported cases of resistance to cephalosporin antibiotics, which it described as the “last treatment option against gonorrhoea”.
Dr Manjula Lusti-Narasimhan, from the Department of Reproductive Health and Research at WHO, said that treatment options for the infection were dwindling as drug-resistance was increasing. “The available data only shows the tip of the iceberg,” she said. “Without adequate surveillance we won’t know the extent of resistance to gonorrhoea and without research into new antimicrobial agents, there could soon be no effective treatment for patients.”
The WHO has published a new action plan, calling for a greater vigilance to ensure that antibiotics are correctly administered and taken. It also encourages more research into alternative treatment regimens for gonococcal infections, as well as better monitoring and reporting of resistant strains.
Antimicrobial resistance can caused by several factors, including unrestricted access to antimicrobials, the overuse and poor quality of antibiotics, and natural genetic mutations within disease organisms.
Notably, strains of gonorrhoea often retain genetic resistance to previous antibiotics even after their use has been discontinued. The WHO says that the extent of such resistance on a global scale is not known because of a lack of reliable data and insufficient research.
Left untreated, gonorrhoea can cause health problems in men, women, and newborn babies.
“We are very concerned about recent reports of treatment failure from the last effective treatment option – the class ofcephalosporin antibiotics – as there are no new therapeutic drugs in development,” said Dr Lusti-Narasimhan. “Ifgonococcal infections become untreatable, the health implications are significant.”
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As Twink would say “zip up your mickey”.
Drug resistance through over-use and mis-use of anti-biotics.
Usually that’s true but in this case it was found that there was a mutent gene found in a particular strain of the bacteria in San Francisco. Was reported in an article in the May edition of American scientific.
Sean all resistance on bacteria would be genetically based! Anything any organism has is genetically based ,but the bacteria encountering antibiotics on a regular basis would have found this gene useful and thus the strain with resistance would flourish! Essentially it’s our own fault through overuse!
Gross, just to put you off unprotected sex forever google images for, blue waffle and fried rice penis ,100% you will always carry a condom afterwards
I’ve been lucky enough to have seen those pictures before so I’ll pass on the google search. I don’t know how anyone can have unprotected sex with someone they haven’t been with for a good while anyway though. I’m lucky enough to have avoided all STD’s but I know too many who aren’t!
This is just a Labour Women ploy to scare men off having sex while in Poland read here for further info http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/euro-2012-fans-urged-not-to-support-prostitution-554432.html Theres a conspiracy me thinks!!!
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