A new antibiotic-resistant form of
gonorrhoea could be 'worse than Aids',
according to some US doctors.
Gonorrhoea HO41 was first detected in a
female sex worker in Japan two years ago
and "the potential for disaster is great",
warns William Smith from the US National
Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD).
"It's an emergency situation," Smith told
CNBC . "As time moves on, it's getting more
hazardous."
HO41 has not yet killed anyone, or spread
outside of Japan - but action is needed in
advance, said Smith.
"That's what's kind of scary about this. We
are at lows in terms of infections, but this
strain is a very tricky bug and we don't have
anything medically to fight it right now."
The new strain of gonorrhoea resists existing
drugs and the NCSD has asked the US
government for an extra £34m in funding to
prepare, reports Sky News.
It claims it is a case of "if, not when" a
drug-resistant form of the disease arrives in
the US, and that if action is not taken now it
could potentially cost around£501m to treat.
"This might be a lot worse than Aids in the
short run because the bacteria is more
aggressive and will affect more people
quickly," Alan Christianson, a doctor of
naturopathic medicine, told CNBC.
"Getting gonorrhoea from this strain might
put someone into septic shock and death in a
matter of days," he claimed.
Gonorrhoea can cause pelvic inflammatory
disease, ectopic pregnancy and infertility.
The disease used to be referred to as "the
clap" and is normally passed through
unprotected sex, but if treated early is
unlikely to lead to long-term problems.
However, medical experts in the UK share the
concerns of their American counterparts.
Professor Dame Sally Davies, England's
Chief Medical Officer, recently advised the
Government to add the threat of drug-
resistant gonorrhoea to the civil emergencies
risk register.
"We have seen a worrying rise in cases of
drug resistant gonorrhoea over the last
decade," said Professor Davies.
"Antimicrobial resistance to common drugs
will increasingly threaten our ability to tackle
infections and the Health Protection Agency's
work is vital to addressing this threat."
Cases of the sexually transmitted infection in
the UK rose by 25% in 2011, with 21,000 new
diagnoses.

www.thisdaylive.com/articles/new-gonorrhoea-strain-worse-than-aids/146894/

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