US Faces 600K Gonorrhea Cases: FDA-Backed Drug Offers Hope 

Posted by admin
US Faces 600K Gonorrhea Cases: FDA-Backed Drug Offers Hope 
US Faces 600K Gonorrhea Cases: FDA-Backed Drug Offers Hope 

United States: Results from late-stage trials demonstrate that a new antibiotic class proves safe and effective against gonorrhea treatment, as researchers have reported in The Lancet. 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved gepotidacin for afternoon use as a treatment of urinary tract infections in women and girls aged 12 and older in March. 

More about the news 

When approved for gonorrhea treatment, the antibiotic will become the newest antibiotic therapeutic option for this sexually transmitted infection after the 1990s. 

Hill reported that Blujepa represents the medication produced by GSK that the pharmaceutical company markets. 

Gonorrhea case numbers experienced their most reduced levels in 2009 before starting a steady rise through 2021 and maintaining a downward trend thereafter, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

The United States has recorded a total of 601,319 reported gonorrhea infections during 2023, according to reporting from the agency. 

The effectiveness of current antibiotics to treat sexually transmitted infections diminishes because gonorrhea and other STIs develop resistance against medical treatments. 

Medical professionals currently need to treat gonorrhea patients with a 500 mg ceftriaxone antibiotic injection. 

In 2023, the CDC released updated guidelines that instructed medical providers to use elevated doses of the antibiotic because of emerging antibiotic resistance. 

The Washington State Nurses Association president, Justin Gill, works at urgent care as a nurse practitioner and sees gonorrhea regularly yet faces antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea cases when treating patients. 

According to Gill, “There are only a handful of antibiotics that are available as backup options.” 

“The development of new antibiotics has been slow, but federal investment in new and emerging antibiotic options is necessary before resistant strains of gonorrhea expand further,” he continued, as per the Hill reports. 

Gonorrhea remains untreated. It results in severe medical conditions that create infertility between men and women and heightens HIV opportunity for distribution, according to the activities of the CDC.