Scientists are warning that a new strain of the sexually transmitted disease Gonorrhoea has become resistant to antibiotics and could now go on to become a serious global threat to public health.

International research by the experts show that analysis of the bacterium that causes the sexually transmitted disease has found a new variant which is very effective at mutating the disease.

The experts identified the new strain which is responsible for the extreme resistance to all Cephalosporin-class antibiotics, named HO41, and inform that new drugs are needed to delay the imminent spread of the disease to prevent the global catastrophy from happening.

Cephalosporins are closely related to Penicillins and are used to treat many bacterial infections.

“Since antibiotics became the standard treatment for Gonorrhoea in the 1940s, this bacterium has shown a remarkable capacity to develop resistance mechanisms to all drugs introduced to control it.

“While is is still too early to assess if this new strain has become widespread, the history of newly emergent resistance in the bacterium suggests that it may spread rapidly unless new drugs and effective treatment programs are developed”, said Doctor Magnus Unemo, form the Swedish Research Laboratory.

Gonorrhoea is a sexually transmitted bacteria infection and the worlds most common sexually transmitted disease, it can go undetected in almost 50 per cent of cases.

If Gonorrhoea is left untreated it can lead to serious health complications for both men and women.

The clear message to everyone is:

“Prevention is better than cure.”