CDC urges research into new gonorrhea treatments due to resistance concerns

A recent article published by HealthDay News reported that although there have not yet been any untreatable cases of gonorrhea diagnosed in the U.S., a growing number of people who have the sexually transmitted disease have shown signs of resistance to the single remaining antibiotic that is available to treat the condition.

The news provider explained that in order to evaluate the level of antibiotic resistance that some strains of gonorrhea have, scientists measure the amounts of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) in patients.

The news source cited a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which found that the number of gonorrhea patients being treated with the drug cefixime who exhibited signs of MICs rose from 0.2 percent to 1.4 percent over 10 years.

For this reason, the organization has encouraged research into new treatments for gonorrhea and increased its surveillance of different strains and levels of resistance.

The CDC estimates that about 700,000 Americans are infected with gonorrhea each year.