Super-gonorrhoea: Treatment-resistant superbug becoming ‘major global threat’ warns expert

Super gonorrhea spreads throughout the UK

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The recent case was confirmed in an unidentified man who had unprotected sex with a prostitute while on holiday in Cambodia, prompting fears the superbug could pose a serious threat to public health. Super resistant gonorrhoea, so-called because it resists typical treatment from antibiotics, poses a challenge because it limits the treatment choices available for the infection. The sexually transmitted disease is more contagious and presents differently to other types of gonorrhoea, experts have warned

The latest victim first took notice of his symptoms after returning from his trip to Colombia in April.

Within five days of his return, he experienced pain while urinating and discharge from his penis.

After further tests confirmed he had gonorrhoea, he was given a standard course of antibiotics, which helped ease symptoms.

The patient, however, still tested positive for gonorrhoea, suggesting the treatment had failed to rid the body of the infection.

Leading experts have previously warned the strains, which are “extensively” drug-resistant, are different to ones seen before.

A new report, authored by Doctor Sonja Pleninger of the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, warned these types of strains pose a “major global health threat”.

The expert noted: “If such strains manage to establish a sustained transmission, many gonorrhoea cases might become untreatable.”

Gonorrhoea, sometimes referred to as the clap, has historically been controlled through the administration of antibiotics.

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