This article was originally published in English
A new surveillance report reveals that bacteria that cause sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) have increased their resistance to drugs.
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European health authorities warned of an increase in drug resistance against gonorrhea that could limit treatment options for the infection. Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by bacteria and often has no symptoms.
If left untreated, it can cause serious problems such as pelvic inflammatory disease or infertility. In a new surveillance report for 2022, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warned that two strains of this STD were antibiotic resistant common ceftriaxone, which is used to treat it.
About 4,400 gonorrhea strains from 23 European countries underwent a surveillance program in 2022. strain ratio resistant to another antibiotic, azithromycin, increased from 14% in 2021 to almost 26% in 2022.
This could complicate treatment options, since this drug is often used together with ceftriaxone to treat gonorrheasaid the health agency. Resistance of gonorrhea isolates to the antibiotic ciprofloxacin also increased from 63% in 2021 to 66% in 2022.
“The rise of resistant strains can compromise the effectiveness of existing treatment options, posing a significant challenge for public health until new ones are available therapeutic options“ECDC said in a statement on Monday.
“Although resistance to (the antibiotic) cefixime remains low, at 0.3%, a continuous surveillanceespecially because gonococcal strains resistant to cefixime and ceftriaxone are spreading internationally,” the agency added. They recommended increased surveillance, periodic reviews of treatment guidelines and prevention efforts.
Increase in sexually transmitted infections after the pandemic
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), gonorrhea has become increasingly drug resistant Worldwide. Multiple countries have reported failure to cure disease with ceftriaxone alone or with that antibiotic combined with others, according to the WHO.
The ECDC warned at the beginning of the year of the worrying increase in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Europe.
In 2022, there were more than 70,800 cases of gonorrhea in 28 EU/EEA countries, an increase of 48% compared to the previous year.
The syphilis cases increased by 34% and chlamydia by 16% in 2022 compared to the previous year. He increase in cases It could be related to changes in sexual behavior following the COVID-19 pandemic, experts said in March. The smallest number of tests and treatments during the pandemic could also have caused a rebound, they added.
