'Untreatable' gonorrhoea is spreading through Australia - as experts warn unprotected sex will fuel the epidemic
- Drug-resistant strains of Neisseria gonorrhoea have been found in Australia
- These bacteria produce the painful sexually-transmitted infection gonorrhoea
- They are resistant to the antibiotic medicines ceftriaxone and azithromycin
Two new stains of gonorrhoea that are resistant to antibiotics have been detected in Australia for the first time.
The drug-resistant versions of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacteria that produces the painful sexually-transmitted infection, have been found in Australia, a federal government report has revealed.
They are unable to be treated with antibiotic medicines ceftriaxone and azithromycin, leaving sufferers with an infection that causes extreme pain during urination.
Two new stains of gonorrhoea that are resistant to antibiotics have been detected in Australia for the first time
Professor John Turnidge, the senior medical adviser with the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, said the findings highlighted the need for condoms to be used during sex.
'To prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs), either to yourself or others, it is best to practice safe sex,' he said in a statement.
'Safe sex includes using a condom or dental dam to ensure that you do not pass an infection on to your partner.'
The commission's biannual National Alert System for Critical Antimicrobial Resistance report said the discovery of these gonorrhoea strains in Australia followed similar findings in the United Kingdom.
Two new stains of gonorrhoea that are resistant to antibiotics have been detected in Australia for the first time (stock image)
'The detection of these strains is concerning because of the potential for N. gonorrhoea to cause a community outbreak of sexually transmitted infections,' the report said.
N. gonorrhoeae cases account for 38 per cent of cases of drug-resistant infections in Australia.
The report also revealed another five strains of gonorrhoea that had a high-level resistance to the antibiotic drug azithromycin.
It also highlighted an increase in the multi-drug resistant Shigella species – an infection associated with food-borne illness, particularly in people returning from overseas travel in developing countries.
'Clinicians in the community should be aware of risk factors for highly resistant community infections including overseas travel,' Professor Turnidge said.
Shigella usually results in diarrhoea, fever and nausea, and occassionally vomiting and stomach cramps.
The government report also found a rise in the number of drug-resistant Carbapenemase-producing enterobacteriaceae, an infection also known as CPE, which lives in the bowel.
This illness is more commonly spread in unhygienic hospital wards overseas but is more commonly occurring in Australia.
'These bacteria do not discriminate. The latest report shows that few age groups are spared, including our youngest Australians, children aged up to four years,' the report said.
'As CPE are becoming commonplace across various hospital settings in Australia, clinicians need to be aware of the patient populations at risk to limit spread to other patients.'
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