(Press-News.org) In 2012, there were over 25,000 cases of gonorrhoea in the UK making it the second most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection after chlamydia. Control of gonorrhoea is dependent on successful antibiotic treatment, as the bacterium that causes the infection, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, has become increasingly resistance to every antibiotic used to treat it over the last 60 years. Today, at the Society for General Microbiology's Annual Conference in Liverpool, Professor Cathy Ison explains the challenges facing the treatment of the disease, which threatens to become resistant to all antibiotics.
In 2012, Professor Ison led on the launch of the Health Protection Agency's first Gonorrhoea Resistance Action Plan for England and Wales, as part of the Gonococcal Resistance to Antimicrobials Surveillance Programme (GRASP) that provides surveillance data on levels of drug resistance. GRASP, which has provide surveillance data in England and Wales since 2000, has been used to change clinical practice in the UK.
Today, she will show that campaigns in the UK to raise awareness of drug resistance among healthcare professionals, policy-makers and at risk groups have shown some success in delaying the onset of treatment failure to the oral antibiotic cefixime. When evidence of antibiotic-resistance to cefixime was identified it was replaced as treatment of choice by ceftriaxone, an injectable antibiotic of the same class. This was done to prevent the widespread emergence of cefixime-resistance gonorrhoea. Cefixime and ceftriaxone are the last group of antibiotics known to be fully effective against gonorrhoea.
Professor Ison said: "While we have shown that a proactive approach to changing therapy has shown some success, we should remember that this infection has repeatedly become resistant to successive antibiotics over decades, and that it is likely that this is only a temporary reprieve. This will give the internationally community time to investigate new drugs and alternative strategies for treating gonorrhoea and maintain it as a treatable infection."
However, Professor Ison stresses that we should remain vigilant: "We can already see in data from England and Wales, as well as other some countries, that there is the beginning of drifts towards resistance to the injectable drug, ceftriaxone, which is currently used as the drug of choice for gonorrhoea. Public health control of gonorrhoea must include prompt diagnosis, delivery of effective treatment and detection of treatment failures, combined with strong prevention messages."
To combat the continuing high rates of STI transmission in England, and the growing risk of gonorrhoea treatment failure it is essential that individuals:
Always use a condom when having sex with new and casual partners
Reduce the number of sexual partners and avoid overlapping sexual relationships
Get a regular STI check-up if having unprotected sex with new or casual partners.
INFORMATION:
Awareness campaign shows signs of delaying onset of drug-resistant gonorrhea in UK
2014-04-15
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Gene variant puts women at higher risk of Alzheimer's than it does men, study finds
2014-04-15
STANFORD, Calif. — Carrying a copy of a gene variant called ApoE4 confers a substantially greater risk for Alzheimer's disease on women than it does on men, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
The scientists arrived at their findings by analyzing data on large numbers of older individuals who were tracked over time and noting whether they had progressed from good health to mild cognitive impairment — from which most move on to develop Alzheimer's disease within a few years — or to Alzheimer's disease itself.
The discovery ...
Chinese herbal remedy as good as methotrexate for treating rheumatoid arthritis
2014-04-15
A traditional Chinese herbal remedy used to relieve joint pain and inflammation works as well as methotrexate, a standard drug treatment that is frequently prescribed to control the symptoms of active rheumatoid arthritis, reveals research published online in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
Furthermore, combining the herbal remedy with methotrexate—the disease modifying drug (DMARD) most commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis—was more effective than treatment with methotrexate alone, the findings showed.
Triptergium wilfordii Hook F, or TwHF for short, ...
Lower salt intake likely to have had key role in plummeting cardiovascular disease deaths in past decade
2014-04-15
The 15% fall in dietary salt intake over the past decade in England is likely to have had a key role in the 40% drop in deaths from heart disease and stroke over the same period, concludes research published in the online journal BMJ Open.
But average intake across the nation is still far too high, warn the authors. And much greater effort is needed to curb the salt content of the foods we eat, they insist.
Dietary salt is known to increase blood pressure, which is itself a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
The authors base their findings on an ...
New study finds closing gap in diarrhea care of African children could save 20,000 lives
2014-04-15
Deerfield, Ill. (April 14, 2014) – Young children suffering from diarrheal diseases are less likely to receive life-saving oral rehydration therapy (ORT) if they seek treatment at private, for-profit clinics, according to the first-ever, large-scale study of child diarrhea treatment practices in sub-Saharan Africa. The stark difference in treatment between public and private clinics may be unnecessarily costing tens of thousands of lives each year from diarrheal diseases that are effectively treatable with inexpensive oral rehydration salts, researchers conclude in the ...
Annals of Internal Medicine tip sheet for April 15, 2014
2014-04-15
1. New delirium severity score helps to predict outcomes for hospitalized patients
A new delirium severity score proves accurate for predicting important clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients, according to an article published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Delirium is common among hospitalized patients and is associated with poor outcomes. The Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) is a standardized, validated measure that is widely used to screen for the presence of delirium but not its severity. Researchers hypothesized that adding a valid delirium severity measure ...
Everest trek shows how some people get type 2 diabetes
2014-04-15
Scientists have gained new insights into the molecular process of how some people get type II diabetes, which could lead to new ways of preventing people from getting the condition.
The research, led by the University of Southampton and UCL, which took place on Mount Everest, assessed the mechanisms by which low oxygen levels in the body – known as hypoxia – are associated with the development of insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance is when cells fail to respond to insulin in the body. Insulin enables the body to regulate sugar levels. Too much sugar can be toxic ...
Boston-area researchers develop new delirium severity measure for older adults
2014-04-15
BOSTON —A new method for measuring delirium severity in older adults has been developed by researchers from Harvard, Brown, and UMASS. The new scoring system, CAM-S, is based on the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) and standardizes the measurement of delirium severity for both clinical and research uses. Details of this study are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
Delirium is defined as the sudden onset of confusion or change in mental status that is often brought about by physical illness, surgery, or hospitalization. Delirium is a common and often costly ...
Seniors and sleeping pills: Empowered patients choose wisely
2014-04-14
The US Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act encourages patients to act as their own advocates for reducing unnecessary prescriptions that increase the risk of harm. The American Board of Internal Medicine Choosing Wisely® campaign echoes this message by asking older adults to refrain from using sleeping pills. According to the American Geriatrics Society, these medicines have been linked to memory problems, falls, fractures and motor vehicle accidents. "Many people believe that involving patients in the decision to curtail medical treatments is expecting too ...
Gene panels may be useful, cheaper alternative to whole-genome sequencing, study finds
2014-04-14
STANFORD, Calif. — As many as 10 percent of women with a personal or family history of breast or ovarian cancer have at least one genetic mutation that, if known, would prompt their doctors to recommend changes in their care, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
The women in the study did not have mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 (mutations in these genes are strongly associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer), but they did have mutations in other cancer-associated genes.
The study was conducted using what's known ...
Collaborative care model manages depression, anxiety in patients with heart disease
2014-04-14
Bottom Line: A telephone-based collaborative care model helped manage depression and anxiety, and improved health-related quality of life in patients with heart disease.
Author: Jeff C. Huffman, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues.
Background: Depression following acute cardiac conditions is common and generalized anxiety and panic disorders occur at higher rates in patients with heart conditions. Depression and anxiety are determinants of health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Collaborative care (CC) models use nonphysician care managers ...