CDC Limits Antibiotics in Treatment of Gonorrhea Due to Drug Resistance
The nation's STD Directors learned earlier this week that their arsenal of drugs used to treat gonorrhea is being decreased due to the just announced Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendation that fluoroquinilones – a strong class of antibiotics - no longer be used to treat the disease. While drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea have increased, treatment is now limited to one class of drugs – cephalosporins.
Coming on the heels of the recent upswing in gonorrhea rates in 10 western states (CDC MMWR, March 16), The National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) and the American Social Health Association (ASHA) warn that if the problem goes unchecked the country will face a serious public health crisis over the next decade that will erase any measurable strides made in the battle against STDs. With no new drugs to treat gonorrhea in the pipeline the urgency to address this issue is paramount due to the fear that in the future drug-resistance remaining class of drugs, cephalosporins, could develop. To date there has not been measurable rates of resistance to these drugs.
Don Clark, Executive Director of NCSD, and Lynn Barclay, CEO of ASHA, have called for a multi-prong approach that if implemented could help avert a serious crisis. They stated that the pharmaceutical industry must step up to the plate to address the urgent need for new medicines to treat gonorrhea. Both Clark and Barclay also said that Congress must address the cuts in funding at CDC over the last 5 years. Fewer dollars for prevention and treatment of STDs while disease rates climb is by far one of the biggest challenges being faced by public health professionals today.