Drug-Resistant ‘Super’ Disease Alarms New York Health Officials

Health officials are indeed on high alert as drug-resistant "super gonorrhea" is spreading.

Doctors around the world are sounding the alarm over something they’re calling “super gonorrhea” — a drug-resistant strain that’s getting harder, and in some cases nearly impossible, to treat.

Health Experts Sound Alarm As “Super Gonorrhea” Spreads Worldwide

According to the World Health Organization, resistance to ceftriaxone, the primary first treatment, jumped from 0.8% in 2022 to 5% by 2024. Resistance to azithromycin has also climbed by about 4 percent.

That may not sound huge, but in infectious disease terms, that’s a major leap in a short amount of time.

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Doctors warn that these "super gonorrhea" strains are resistant to multiple antibiotics, including penicillin, tetracycline, and ciprofloxacin.

Cases Spreading U.S.

Doctors warn that these "super gonorrhea" strains are resistant to multiple antibiotics, including penicillin, tetracycline, and ciprofloxacin, leaving doctors with fewer and fewer options.

Cases of extensively drug-resistant strains have been reported in the U.S., U.K., France, Japan, and parts of Southeast Asia.

Women typically have no symptoms. That means the bacteria can spread silently through communities without people even knowing they’re infected.

Untreated gonorrhea can cause infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease, increased HIV risk, and even blindness in newborns if passed during childbirth.

New Drugs Approved

The FDA recently approved two new oral antibiotics, zoliflodacin and gepotidacin, that are designed to target drug-resistant gonorrhea. Health experts are calling it a "potential turning point."

The CDC and WHO recommend safe sex practices like condoms, dental dams, and regular testing, as well as reporting treatment failures.