Govt concerned with drug-resistant gonorrhoea
GOVERNMENT is concerned with people suffering from gonorrhoea, who seek treatment from backyard facilities, saying they risk developing a drug-resistant strain of the sexuallytransmitted disease, amid revelations by the World Health Organisation (WHO) of such cases being on the rise.
In a recent interview following revelations by WHO that data from over 70 countries showed that gonorrhoea was becoming harder and sometimes impossible to treat, head of Aids and Tuberculosis Unit in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr Owen Mugurungi said the country’s progress in managing STIs could be eroded by people who do not seek treatment in conventional health facilities.
“We fear for that group of people who are not being treated at public health facilities for gonorrhoea; these can have treatment compromised and this can lead to resistance if they are not given the proper medication,” said Dr Mugurungi.
He said, as Government, they had managed gonorrhoea by using a single dose of injection for treatment, unlike other countries which were using tablets.
Dr Mugurungi said it is those countries that are using tablets for gonorrhoea treatment that risk having a drug -resistant strain of the sexually transmitted disease.
“As a country, for nearly 20 years we have been using a single dose of injection called rocephine and this has helped us manage the situation, but the threat is with those who do not seek treatment at convectional health facilities,” he said.
Dr Mugurungi urged those who cannot seek treatment at public health institutions for various reasons to at least adhere to treatment to avoid resistance.
WHO has since issued a warning over antibiotic resistance, reporting that data from 77 countries showed that gonorrhoea was becoming harder and sometimes difficult to treat with older and cheaper antibiotics.
“The bacteria that cause gonorrhoea are particularly smart. Every time we use a new class of antibiotics to treat the infection, the bacteria evolve to resist them,” said Dr Teodora Wi, medical officer (Human Reproduction) at WHO.
Each year, an estimated 78 million people worldwide are infected with gonorrhoea.
Gonorrhoea can infect the genitals, rectum and throat.
Complications of gonorrhoea disproportionally affect women, causing pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy and infertility, as well as an increasing risk of HIV.
“These cases may just be the tip of the iceberg since systems to diagnose and report untreatable infections are lacking in lower-income countries, where gonorrhoea is actually more common,” adds Dr Wi.
In Zimbabwe, statistics from the National Aids Council show an increase in the number of sexually transmitted diseases, including repeated cases — an indication that people might either not be practising safe sex or may have developed drug-resistant STIs.