HPSC publishes two reports on resistance to super gonorrhoea in Ireland amid growing global threat

*Gulps*

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has published two reports on gonorrhoea antimicrobial resistance in Ireland. Antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae (N. gonorrhoeae), the bacteria that is responsible for gonorrhoea, often referred to as super gonorrhea, is a growing global threat. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that gonorrhoea may become untreatable in the future due to antimicrobial resistance. There's no available vaccine for the prevention of gonorrhoea and there's limited new antimicrobials in the development pipeline. Previously the extended spectrum cephalosporin (ESC) class of antibiotics was considered to be the last line of defence against gonorrhoea but there have been global reports of reduced susceptibility and resistance to cephalosporins. Gonorrhoea is spread by unprotected vaginal, oral and anal sex. Symptoms can include a thick green or yellow discharge from sexual organs, pain when urinating and bleeding between periods. However, vaginal and rectal infections often have no symptoms and an untreated infection can lead to infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease and can be passed on to a child during pregnancy. The reports can be read here and here.