Slow setback for scientists who have found the cure for super gonorrhea

The so-called ‘super gonorrhea’ had finally met its match in a brand new antibiotic – the first new treatment in decades for the globally problematic sexually transmitted disease (STD).

More than 82 million new gonorrhea infections are recorded worldwide every year, making it the third most common sexually transmitted disease. The disease affects both men and women and, if left untreated, can lead to infertility in women, life-threatening ectopic pregnancies and pelvic inflammatory diseases.

Although most cases are treatable, health organizations have become increasingly concerned in recent years about the emergence of super gonorrhea, an antibiotic-resistant strain caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

The World Health Organization has classified the bacteria as a ‘priority pathogen’.

Now, however, researchers from Switzerland and the US have developed a brand new ‘first-in-class’ antibiotic that fights the infection in a new way.

The drug, called zoliflodacin, has a unique effect: it inhibits a crucial enzyme that is essential for the multiplication of bacteria.

Zoliflodacin was tested on 930 people with gonorrhea in the United States, South Africa, Thailand, Belgium and the Netherlands, making it the largest clinical trial to date to treat the disease.

Participants received the new antibiotic in the form of a pill or an injection with the existing gonorrhea drug ceftriaxone in combination with an oral dose of the antibiotic azithromycin.

The study not only showed that zoliflodacin successfully neutralized the infection, but also that the drug was safe to use.

“The result of this study is a potential game changer for sexual health,” says Dr. Edward W. Hook III, principal investigator of the study and professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Alabama, Birmingham.

“In addition to the potential benefits for patients with infections with resistant strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the potential lack of cross-resistance with other antibiotics and the oral route of administration will simplify the treatment of gonorrhea for physicians worldwide.”

However, laboratory tests have shown that Neisseria gonorrhoeae can develop resistance to zoliflodacin. Therefore, the drug is developed only for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases and not for the treatment of other diseases.

Resistance to ceftriaxone is already widespread worldwide, while some strains also show resistance to azithromycin, leading to the emergence of the super strain.

“This changing situation is a serious problem because gonorrhea may no longer be treatable,” says Magnus Unemo, a microbiologist at Örebro University Hospital in Sweden.

However, the new study gives hope to patients and doctors around the world and expands their arsenal in the fight against gonorrhea.

“Despite the public health value being extremely high, there is a lack of investment in the development of new drugs against gonorrhea,” says Dr. Manica Balasegaram, executive director of the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership, who led the study.

“This zoliflodacin program demonstrates that it is possible to develop antibiotic treatments that target multidrug-resistant bacteria that pose the greatest threat to public health and that might not otherwise be developed.”

Last year, Britain’s Health Security Agency warned of a number of cases of super gonorrhea in Britain, and in July it warned holidaymakers against unprotected sex to prevent the spread of the untreatable virus.