FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20th, 2007

Attn: Fred Wyand
P.O. Box 13827
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
(919) 361 - 3124 (voice)
(919) 361 - 8425 (fax)
mediarelations@ashastd.org

Drug Resistant Strains of Gonorrhea Prompt Changes to CDC Treatment Guidelines

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated their treatment guidelines this week to exclude a powerful class of antibiotics, fluoroquinilones, as treatment for gonorrhea due to the continued emergence of strains of the infection that are resistant to these drugs. CDC estimates there are more than 700,000 new cases of gonorrhea in the U.S. each year, and treatment is now

So far no resistance has been detected when using cephalosporins to treat gonorrhea but there are concerns that resistance to this class of drugs may develop in the future, and such worries are heightened because there are no new drugs to treat the infection in development. Additionally, unlike fluoroquinilones that can be taken orally, cephalosporins are given primarily in a less convenient injectable form.

Lynn Barclay, president and CEO of the American Social Health Association (ASHA) cautions that in coming years the lack of treatment options for gonorrhea could undermine much of the progress STI prevention programs have made in controlling the infection: "This is a looming public health crisis, and it's critical that pharmaceutical companies place a priority on finding effective new drugs against gonorrhea."

Barclay also calls on policy makers to do their part by giving more support to STI prevention programs. "There are over 18 million new cases of STI's in the U.S. each year, yet funding for prevention efforts continues to diminish even though the need for resources has clearly never been greater," she says.

Download ASHA's gonorrhea fact sheet (pdf) at http://www.ashastd.org/pdfs/Gonorrhea_factsheet.pdf

Visit ASHA's STI Message Boards at http://www.ashastd.org/phpbb/index.php