Gonorrhea became more drug resistant while attention was on COVID-19 – a molecular biologist explains the sexually transmitted superbug - The Conversation

Gonorrhea has long been one of the most commonly reported bacterial infections in the U.S..

Over 50% of those cases involved strains of gonorrhea that had become unresponsive to treatment with at least one antibiotic.

As a molecular biologist, I have been studying bacteria and working to develop new antibiotics to treat drug-resistant infections for 20 years.

Antibiotic treatment can cure most cases of gonorrhea as long as the infection is susceptible to at least one antibiotic.

Seven different families of antibiotics have been used to treat gonorrhea in the past, but many strains are now resistant to one or more of these drugs.

labs capable of testing for gonorrhea switched to testing for COVID-19.

Many people have avoided clinics and hospitals during the pandemic, which has decreased opportunities to identify and treat gonorrhea infections before they spread.

In the U.S., antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea infections increased by over 70% from 2017-2019.

This initiative aims to promote safe sexual practices, increase access to high-quality health care for sexually transmitted diseases and expand testing so that asymptomatic infections can be treated before they spread

The initiative is also advocating for increased research into vaccines and new antibiotics to treat gonorrhea

Setbacks in fighting drug-resistant gonorrhea during the COVID-19 pandemic make these actions even more urgent