Scientists warn new strain of gonorrhea could be ‘global health threat’

Scientists warn new strain of sexually transmitted disease could be ‘global health threat’ | LifeSiteNews.com: "The most recent strain, dubbed “H041,” was discovered recently in Japan and has resisted typical antibiotics used to combat gonorrhea. Undetected, it can be passed on to unborn children during pregnancy.

H041’s antibiotic resistance was discovered by Magnus Unemo of the Swedish Reference Laboratory for Pathogenic Neisseria at Orebro University Hospital, who warned the strain may cause a “future era of untreatable gonorrhea. If it spreads now, we don’t know what should be the recommended treatment."

Although gonorrhea has been known to develop resistance to drugs and adapt to new ones after ten to fifteen years, scientists could previously treated infections successfully with a drug called cephalosporins. However, the new strain does not react to the drug, said the Swedish researcher, who will now attempt to treat it using carbapenems, the most powerful antibiotic yet devised, to combat the new strain.

"It's really worrying from a public health perspective," Unemo said.