Risk Wire - Episode 4 - Otilia Mårdh - When Gonorrhoea Fights Back

Gonorrhoea has developed resistance to almost every antibiotic used against it. So what happens when the treatments we still rely on start to lose their effectiveness?

Cases of gonorrhoea resistant to ceftriaxone, currently the first-line treatment, are increasing in Europe. And while resistant infections were previously mainly linked to travel, there is now growing evidence that transmission is also happening locally.

In this episode of ECDC: On Air – Risk Wire, Otilia Mårdh, ECDC expert on sexually transmitted infections, explains what is behind the rise of drug-resistant gonorrhoea, why Neisseria gonorrhoeae is so good at developing resistance and what multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant gonorrhoea actually mean.

Could gonorrhoea eventually become untreatable? We look at how close we are to losing some of the treatments available today, what new antibiotics could offer, and how surveillance, prevention, testing and appropriate treatment can help keep gonorrhoea treatable.

Learn more:

ECDC risk assessment on ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhoea

ECDC information on gonorrhoea