Researchers warn of gonorrhea's increasing antibiotic resistance

The number of available antibiotic treatments that some strains of gonorrhea have become resistant to is growing, according to a recent article published by MyHealthNewsDaily. The news provider explained that nearly 25 percent of identified strains of the virus are no longer curable with the use of penicillin, tetracycline, fluoroquinolones or a combination of these antibiotics.

Cephalosporins are the only other medications that are currently used to treat the sexually transmitted disease in the U.S., but recent studies have shown that some strains of gonorrhea found in East Asia are already developing resistance to these antibiotics, the news source said.

"This may be the harbinger of things to come. The resistance may be getting worse," Kimberly Workowski of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told the news site. The researcher added that scientists fear gonorrhea may become an untreatable "superbug."

According to the CDC, more than 300,000 new cases of gonorrhea are reported annually in the U.S., although the organization estimates that an additional 400,000 infections are contracted but go undiagnosed.

Untreated cases of gonorrhea may cause pelvic inflammatory disease in women or infertility among both males and females, the CDC notes.