Concerns are being raised following revelations that a number of strains of gonorrhoea that have emerged in England and Wales that are drug-resistant.
Newsts on samples of the sexually transmitted infection (STI) have shown high levels of resistance to the commonly used antibiotic azithromycin.
Health Protection Agency researchers have labelled the finding as a significant public health concern.
The majority of STIs are very easy to treat but they don't clear up on their own, if left untreated some STIs can cause more serious health problems
Gonorrhoea is the second most common STI in the UK and young people are most at risk of infection, it is easily spread as early symptoms of the infection can be mild and people may be unaware they have caught it.
But if left untreated the consequences are serious, especially in women who can develop pelvic inflammatory disease which can damage the fallopian tubes, leading infertility.
The HPA set up a study programme in 2001 to specifically monitor whether antibiotics continued to be effective against the infection, with the study noting six cases in 2007 which were resistant to azithromycin, five from Liverpool and one from Cardiff.
Further analysis published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy shows there has been a general trend towards antibiotic resistance in recent years, leading to the conclusion that increased dosage will be unlikely to be successful.
Similar results have also been recorded in the US with studies showing a drifts towards resistant strains of the disease,
Azithromycin is not currently recommended as a first choice therapy for people with gonorrhoea but it is supposed to be a fall-back drug if the standard ones stop working,
Researchers suggest resistance could have occurred because the drug was being used against official advice or when low doses of the antibiotic have been given for treating chlamydia. If gonorrhoea had been undiagnosed the disease would not have been fully treated, paving the way for resistance to develop.
Dr Stephanie Chisholm, says antibiotic resistance is able to develop very easily in the organism that causes gonorrhoea and antibiotics ciprofloxacin, tetracycline and penicillin have already become useless because of the problem.
If high-level resistance to azithromycin spreads further, this is one less treatment option available for the future, she added.
"At present there is no evidence to show that these strains will cause any different symptoms to the strains that are currently circulating. The doctor stressed that despite this resistance, appropriate antibiotic treatment would cure all uncomplicated gonococcal infections.
It is vital that those who are infected seek treatment, because if left untreated complications can occur such as pelvic inflammatory disease, chronic pelvic pain, ectopic pregnancy or infertility a consequence even if treated and cured at a much later stage.
The HPA stressed the point that everybody should use condoms with new and casual partners, it should also be noted that gonorrhoea could be transmitted by unprotected oral sex.
The majority of STIs are very easy to treat but they don't clear up on their own, if left untreated some STIs can cause more serious health problems, if people have had unprotected sex it's important they get checked and get the right treatment as soon as possible.
Tagged in Sexual Health