Soon, sexually transmitted infection may become untreatable

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: For all those who are not in the habit of practicing safe sex, this comes as an alarm. If experts are to be trusted, sexually transmitted infection may soon become untreatable.

According to Public Health England (PHE), cases of an antibiotic resistant sexually transmitted infection have been detected in London and if these current cases become resistant to all forms of antibiotics, then there is no new drug available that can treat it and the infection could possibly become untreatable.

The safe-sex call comes as an increase in antibiotic resistant cases of the super gonorrhoea continues, a further sign of the very real threat of antibiotic resistance to the ability to treat infections, said PHE.

A national alert was issued in November 2014, when the first case was detected in the city of Leeds, with doctors discovering one of the main treatments had become useless against it.

This total number of cases confirmed in England, between November 2014 and April 2016, has now increased to 34, but the number of men and women with the infection could well be much higher as there are often no signs a person is infected.

"PHE continues to monitor and investigate gonorrhoea cases that are highly resistant to the antibiotic 'azithromycin'," said the agency.

(With IANS inputs)