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Drug
Resistance Forces CDC to Change Gonorrhea Treatment
Options
(onlinedatingmagazine.com -
April 23, 2007) The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) is recommending immediate changes
to the treatment of gonorrhea due to the sexually
transmitted disease becoming resistant to certain
antibiotics. The CDC is recommending that fluoroquinolones
(ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, and levofloxacin) no longer
be used in gonnorrhea treatments within America.
Gonorrhea
is one of the most frequent STDs in the United States
and recommending a stop in the use of fluoroquinolones
limits treatment options even more.
The
recommendation to not use fluoroquinolones came about
because of new data released this month in CDC’s
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) showing
that fluoroquinolone-resistant gonorrhea is now widespread
in the United States among heterosexuals and men
who have sex with men (MSM).
The
data also displayed the proportion of drug-resistant
cases among heterosexuals rising above the recognized
threshold of five percent for changing treatment
recommendations.
Recommended
options for now treating gonorrhea are limited
to a group of antibiotics known as cephalosporins.
Public health officials emphasize that the lack of
treatment options is prompting the immediate need
for accelerated research into new drugs, as well
as increased effortsfor monitoring emerging drug
resistance, especially to cephalosporins.
“There
is also an urgent need for new, effective medicines
to treat gonorrhea. We are running out of options
to treat this serious disease,” said Dr. Kevin
Fenton, Director of CDC’s National Center for
HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. “Increased
vigilance in monitoring for resistance to all available
drugs is essential.”
While
significant resistance to cephalosporins has not
yet been seen, the CDC is working with state
and local health departments to monitor emerging
cephalosporin resistance. In addition,
the CDC is working with the World Health Organization
to strengthen international efforts to monitor for
the emergence of cephalosporin resistance while also
working with government and industry partners to
identify and evaluate promising new drug regimens.
The
CDC emphasizes that these additional measures are
critical for the control of gonorrhea.
Within
the class of cephalosporins, the CDC now recommends
ceftriaxone (available as an injection) as the preferred
treatment for all types of gonorrhea infection (genital,
anal, and throat).
“New
treatment recommendations are critical if we are
to continue to see progress in controlling gonorrhea,” says
Dr. John Douglas, director of the Division of STD
Prevention. “We cannot afford to lose ground
against a disease that continues to affect roughly
700,000 Americans each year.”
Gonorrhea
is the second most commonly reported infectious disease
in the United States after chlamydia.
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