New antibiotic offers hope against "super gonorrhea"

The intractable gonorrhea resistant to antibiotics It's become a scary prospect in the United States, raising concern that someday, people might have to live with the sexually transmitted bacteria.

But now, there are reasons to hope. Nail antibiotic pill The new product was effective against gonorrhea in early clinical trials.

Zoliflodacin was effective in the treatment gonorrhea infections The researchers point out that in the urinary and genital tract and in the rectum.

"Gonorrhea has become resistant to all antibiotics ever used, so we have more than our last class of antibiotics to use," said lead researcher Stephanie Taylor, an infectious disease specialist. New Orleans

"It's extremely encouraging potential new antibioticsaid Taylor, medical director of the Sexual Health Center at Louisiana State University and CrescentCare.

The results of this study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine on November 8th. Gonorrhea rates have increased dramatically in the United States in recent years.

In 2017, more than 555,600 cases were reported nationally, an 18% increase over the previous year, said Dr. Susan Blank, Assistant Commissioner of the Department of Health and Wellness. of mental health of New York City. And between 2013 and 2017, gonorrhea rates increased by 67%.

"It's an infection that is growing rapidly in the United States," Blank warned. "We've seen fairly pronounced increases, it's rarely lethal, but it can have a profound impact on the quality of life."

Currently, people with gonorrhea are treated with an injection of ceftriaxone, the only antibiotic yet effective against the bacteria, said Taylor.

"We know that the gonorrhea He has an incredible ability to develop antibiotic resistance, "said Blank.In the current situation, intractable gonorrhea is a real possibility."

Untreated gonorrhea can lead to infertility in humans, in addition to pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancies and destructive arthritis, Blank said. Babies exposed to gonorrhea by their infected mothers may become blind.

"Gonorrhea also greatly facilitates the transmission of HIV infection by sexual partners," said Blank, author of an editorial published with the results of the new test.

In this clinical trial of 141 patients, zoliflodacin was almost as effective as ceftriaxone.

Zoliflodacin cured 96% of genital and urinary tract infections and 100% of rectal infections, compared with the efficacy of 100% of ceftriaxone, the researchers said.

The new antibiotic had problems with gonorrhea infections in the throat; a higher dose of 3 grams solved only 82% of infections, against a 100% effectiveness of ceftriaxone.

"Historically, this has been the way in which gonorrhea in the throat, he reacted, "commented Taylor. It has always been difficult to manage. "

The most common side effects were gastrointestinal and no patient was forced to discontinue the new drug, Taylor said. One limitation was that only 12 women participated in the trial.

This was the second of three clinical trials necessary for the approval of zoliflodacin in the United States. UU Phase 3 trials will begin next year, Taylor said. If these tests are going well, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) UU would have data to evaluate and approve the antibiotic by 2020. The agency has already designated the antibiotic for accelerated treatment.

Although the development of zoliflodacin is encouraging, more antibiotics should be developed to further fight against gonorrhea and other antibiotic-resistant germs, said Taylor and Blank.

"Although this antibiotic is perfect, we know that gonorrhea can beat it," Blank said. "We need backups, we do not know how fast it will deliver."

Doctors and public health authorities should also continue their efforts to detect and treat gonorrhea, Blank said. Sexually active people should use condoms to prevent transmission of gonorrhea, which spreads disproportionately among blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans, he noted.

"Control the gonorrhea in a population, it requires many connected activities, "Blank said.

The clinical trial was funded in part by the co-developer of zoliflodacin, Entasis Therapeutics, a subsidiary of AstraZeneca.