Global warning over spread of untreatable ‘super-std’

A WAVE of hard-to-treat “super-gonorrhoea” is spreading across the world as the disease becomes resistant to antibiotics, health chiefs have warned.

Scientists have described the outlook for combating the sexually-transmitted condition as “pretty grim”, as it emerges that oral sex and a decline in condom use is fuelling a rise in hard-to-treat cases.

Around 35,000 new infections are diagnosed in England each year, with the disease more prevalent in Britain than in any other OECD country.

Experts at the World Health Organisation said new data from 77 countries showed gonorrhoea’s resistance to drugs is becoming widespread.

While gonorrhoea often infects the genitals, it is infections in the throat following oral sex which are worrying public health officials the most.

They believe that common antibiotics to treat everyday sore throats are mixing with gonorrhoea bacteria living in the throat and resulting in superbugs immune to drugs.

Dr Teodora Wi, from the WHO, said: “Gonorrhoea is a smart bug. Every time you introduce a new class of antibiotics to treat it, the bug becomes resistant.”

Worldwide about 78 million people pick up gonorrhoea each year, although the WHO says its latest figures may represent the “tip of the iceberg”.

Dr Manica Balasegaram, from the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership, said: “The situation is fairly grim. There are only three drug candidates in the pipeline and no guarantee any will make it out.”