New class of antibiotic raises hopes for urgently-needed gonorrhoea drug

With the sexually transmitted disease fast becoming drug resistant, successful lab tests of closthioamide show potential as an effective new treatmentA new class of antibiotic has been found to work in the lab against the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhoea, which can cause infertility and damage to babies and is fast becoming resistant to all existing drugs.Although it is early days, because the antibiotic has yet to be tried in animals or humans, researchers say they are excited by its potential. The World Health Organisation has listedgonorrhoea as a high priority infection that poses a great threat to human health, estimating that there about about 78m gonorrhoea infections worldwide each year. In the UK, gonorrhoea is the second most common bacterial STI afterchlamydia, with 35,000 cases in England in 2014 alone. New drugs are urgently needed.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Gonorrhoea Antibiotics Drug resistance Sexual health Society Science Medical research Source Type: news