Researchers too a closer look at the bacterium that causes gonorrhea and have found a new variant that is very effective at mutating. The infection could easily become threat to public health on a global scale, warns researchers from the Swedish Reference Laboratory yesterday. These experts say that new drugs are needed to delay the spread of the infection. The first case of the gonorrhea that is resistant to antibiotics was recently found in Japan. While analyzing this new strain of Neisseria gonorrhea, called H041, the researchers identified the genetic mutations responsible for this an extreme resistance to any cephalosporin class of antibiotics. Cephalosporins is used to treat a wide range of bacterial infections, which are closely related to penicillin.

Researchers also say that programs need to be developed immediately or else this new strain can spread rapidly unless new drugs and effective treatment programs have been developed. The research team presented its findings to the Conference run by the International Society for Venereal Disease Research in Canada. Dr. Magnus Unemo from the Swedish Research Laboratory, said this was a very alarming and unpredicted new discovery. Ever since antibiotics became the standard treatment for gonorrhea in the 1940s, this bacterium has shown a remarkable ability to develop mechanisms of resistance to all drugs introduced for its control. While it is too early to assess whether this new strain was distributed globally or not, its resistance history indicates that it can spread at alarming speeds!

Prevention of diseases are becoming increasingly important because we all know that antibiotics do not always work. Gonorrhea can affect people of all ages and everyone needs to focus on the care of their sexual health immediately. Dr David Livermore, laboratory director for monitoring antimicrobial resistance to the Health Protection Agency, said that cephalosporin used in Britain is still effective for the treatment of gonorrhea, but their lab tests show that the bacteria is becoming less susceptible which means that they have to use another type cephalosporin with increased dosage. The concern is that they will see gonorrhea are much more difficult to treat in the next five years. The most reliable way to protect against resistant gonorrhea is to use a condom with all new and casual partners. Gonorrhea is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the world. About 50 percent of women infected with gonorrhea have no symptoms. The same goes for 2-5% of men. Gonorrhea is characterized by a burning sensation during urination and can cause shock to the genitals, and if left untreated, gonorrhea can lead to serious and irreversible health complications for both women and men.