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Man Returns From South East Asia with Antibiotic Resistant 'Super Gonorrhoea'

Man Returns From South East Asia with Antibiotic Resistant 'Super Gonorrhoea'

This guy deserves a slow clap. Oh wait...

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

A man has returned from travelling in south east Asia with a new strain of 'super gonorrhoea' that is resistant to antibiotics.

Public Health England (PHE) has revealed that this strain of the sexually transmitted infection has proven resistant to both ceftriaxone and azithromycin, which are the two drugs that the World Health Organisation (WHO) says should be used to treat the illness.

It's the first ever recorded case of drug-resistant Gonorrhoea worldwide and PHE has issued a warning regarding the possibility for the disease to spread.

The patient - a man who, unsurprisingly, wishes to remain nameless - caught his dose from an Asian woman whilst travelling earlier this year.

PA

He has a regular sexual partner back in the UK and noticed his symptoms about a month after coming back from Asia.

Early reports look to indicate that his UK partner does not have the infection, but they are still keeping tabs on her.

This incident comes after the WHO has warned on several occasions recently that the virus could mutate and become resistant to drugs.

It is not known whether the woman he contracted the illness from had the strain already or if it mutated.

The Public Health England report read: "This is the first global report of high-level azithromycin resistant N. gonorrhoeae which is also resistant to ceftriaxone."

They added that they have gathered together a special 'incident management team' to look into the incident and stop the bug spreading.

The man is now on daily injections of ertapenem - another antibiotic - and will be checked again in a month to see how successful that has been.

Gonorrhoea is the UK's third largest STI after genital warts and chlamydia. There are more than 35,000 people with the illness in Britain and more than 78 million people per year get it worldwide.

In men, telltale signs that you might have gonorrhoea (which used to be known as 'the clap') include painful peeing, unusually itchy arse, general itching around the genitals, and discharge from the penis.

Woman can experience similar symptoms (obviously with different genitals) but may also get some pain when on their period.

PA

It's really dangerous if not treated, so go and see your doctor if you're even suspicious that you've got it. It can also cause you to become infertile.

This story is sure to add to the growing concern that the amount of antibiotics that are being dealt out by doctors are speeding up the process of mutation and resistance in bacteria and viruses.

The Chief Medical Officer of the UK, Dame Sally Davies, has previously written to GPs about her concerns that gonorrhoea could become untreatable in the near future.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: UK News, Asia, NHS, Health