Drug-resistant Gonorrhea: An urgent threat to public health worldwide

Drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae (the bacterium that causes gonorrhea) has become one of the most urgent antimicrobial resistant threats to public health worldwide. Clinicians expect to be confronted by rising rates of treatment failure in the years to come. As gonorrhea rates rise and treatment options become more limited, researchers are calling for a more tailored approach that combines new diagnostics, rapid resistance testing, surveillance and additional treatment options for the sexually transmitted disease. Joining me today to discuss drug-resistant gonorrhea is Dr. Lao-Tzu Allan-Blitz, Dr Allan-Blitz is an assistant professor in UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine's Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine, recently co-edited a supplement in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases that outlines the threat and highlights recent advances in diagnostics and therapeutics that can help. Treatment Diversification to Address the Continued Rise of Antimicrobial Resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae