WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The World Health Organization has warned that gonorrhoea, a sexually transmitted infection, is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics. This is according to new data from its Enhanced Gonococcal Antimicrobial Surveillance Programme (EGASP), which monitors the spread of drug-resistant gonorrhoea.
The report highlights the need to strengthen surveillance, improve diagnostic capacity and ensure equitable access to new treatments for sexually transmitted infections. The release of the new data coincides with World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week, reinforcing the importance of global action against drug-resistant infections. EGASP, launched by WHO in 2015, collects laboratory and clinical data from sentinel sites around the world to track AMR and inform treatment guidelines.
Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of the WHO Department for HIV, TB, Hepatitis & STIs, called on all countries to address the rising levels of sexually transmitted infections and integrate gonorrhoea surveillance into national STI programs.
Between 2022 and 2024, resistance to ceftriaxone and cefixime, the primary antibiotics used to treat gonorrhoea, rose sharply from 0.8 percent to 5 percent and from 1.7 percent to 11 percent respectively, with resistant strains detected in more countries. Resistance to azithromycin remained stable at 4 percent, while resistance to ciprofloxacin reached 95 percent. Cambodia and Viet Nam reported the highest resistance rates.
In 2024, 12 EGASP countries in five WHO regions provided data, an increase from just four countries in 2022. This is a positive development reflecting growing commitment to track and contain drug-resistant infections in countries and regions. Brazil, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malawi, the Philippines, Qatar, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, Uganda and Viet Nam together reported 3615 cases of gonorrhoea.
The median patient age was 27 years. Among cases, 20 percent were men who have sex with men, and 42 percent reported multiple sexual partners within the past 30 days. Eight percent reported recent antibiotic use, and 19 percent had travelled recently.
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