THURSDAY, May 12 (HealthDay News) -- Five cases of
antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea found in San Diego County between
August and October 2009 show the need for continued surveillance
for such cases, according to a new report from public health
officials.
The researchers noted that antibiotic treatment can successfully
cure gonorrhea, but drug-resistant strains of the sexually
transmitted disease have been found worldwide.
Each year in the United States, more than 700,000 people get new
gonorrheal infections, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Treatment with two drugs (dual therapy) is
recommended to treat the infection and prevent the development of
antibiotic resistance.
The five cases documented in the report involved patients with
gonorrhea that was resistant to azithromycin, one of the
antibiotics in the recommended dual therapy. The patients were all
men who had sex with men and who had no known connections to each
other.
This suggests that the antibiotic-resistant strains of gonorrhea
may be widespread among men who have sex with men in San Diego
County, the researchers warned. Continued surveillance is essential
for detecting these strains and guiding patient treatment, they
added.
Three of the five patients were white, one was black and one was
Hispanic. Four were residents of San Diego County and one was a
resident of a Midwestern state. The average age of the patients was
29.
The report is published in the May 13 issue of the
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, published by the CDC.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
has more about
gonorrhea.