• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

New strain of extensively drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae detected in Austria

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
June 16, 2022
in Health
Reading Time: 5 mins read
0
ADVERTISEMENT
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Given that there is no vaccine available against gonorrhoea, diagnosing this sexually transmitted infection early, treating it effectively and notifying sexual partners are cornerstones of controlling disease spread. However, Neisseria gonorrhoeae has developed resistance to all classes of antimicrobials since the beginning of treatment with them in the 1930s.

As first-line treatment approach, current guidelines recommend either monotherapy with ceftriaxone or a combination of it with azithromycin but resistance or decreased susceptibility to both has been reported worldwide in recent years.

In their rapid communication, Pleininger et al. [1] describe the case of an extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Neisseria gonorrhoeae strain recently identified that shows high-level resistance to azithromycin and resistance to ceftriaxone, cefixime, cefotaxime, ciprofloxacin and tetracycline.

The strain was detected after a heterosexual male patient in Austria presented with symptoms in April 2022 following condomless sex with a female sex worker in Cambodia. The authors note a possible gonorrhoea treatment failure with ceftriaxone and azithromycin as no post-treatment gonococcal isolates were available. Following the initial treatment course, the test of cure was negative, but a polymerase chain reaction test from the urethral swab culture sample was positive for Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

XDR gonorrhoea challenges current treatment options and recommendations
According to Pleininger at al., the molecular investigation of the isolate establishes the detected strain in Austria as the second global gonococcal strain with ceftriaxone resistance combined with high-level azithromycin resistance and relatively close relationship with the “WHO Q” reference strain. The “WHO Q” strain has been associated with three cases of gonorrhoea notified in the United Kingdom and Australia in 2018 with reported links to South East Asia.

Multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains are a global public health concern given the limited remaining treatment options. Establishment of strains as described by Pleininger et al. with sustained transmission might make many gonorrhoea cases untreatable.

To address this, the authors conclude that “enhanced antimicrobial resistance surveillance (ideally including test of cure and whole-genome sequencing), nationally and internationally, particularly in Asia where many ceftriaxone-resistant strains appear to have emerged, is of highest importance. Ultimately, novel antimicrobials for effective treatment of gonorrhoea and/or a sufficiently effective gonococcal vaccine will be crucial”.
 

Phylogeny of identified strain

Credit: Eurosurveillance

Given that there is no vaccine available against gonorrhoea, diagnosing this sexually transmitted infection early, treating it effectively and notifying sexual partners are cornerstones of controlling disease spread. However, Neisseria gonorrhoeae has developed resistance to all classes of antimicrobials since the beginning of treatment with them in the 1930s.

As first-line treatment approach, current guidelines recommend either monotherapy with ceftriaxone or a combination of it with azithromycin but resistance or decreased susceptibility to both has been reported worldwide in recent years.

In their rapid communication, Pleininger et al. [1] describe the case of an extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Neisseria gonorrhoeae strain recently identified that shows high-level resistance to azithromycin and resistance to ceftriaxone, cefixime, cefotaxime, ciprofloxacin and tetracycline.

The strain was detected after a heterosexual male patient in Austria presented with symptoms in April 2022 following condomless sex with a female sex worker in Cambodia. The authors note a possible gonorrhoea treatment failure with ceftriaxone and azithromycin as no post-treatment gonococcal isolates were available. Following the initial treatment course, the test of cure was negative, but a polymerase chain reaction test from the urethral swab culture sample was positive for Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

XDR gonorrhoea challenges current treatment options and recommendations
According to Pleininger at al., the molecular investigation of the isolate establishes the detected strain in Austria as the second global gonococcal strain with ceftriaxone resistance combined with high-level azithromycin resistance and relatively close relationship with the “WHO Q” reference strain. The “WHO Q” strain has been associated with three cases of gonorrhoea notified in the United Kingdom and Australia in 2018 with reported links to South East Asia.

Multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains are a global public health concern given the limited remaining treatment options. Establishment of strains as described by Pleininger et al. with sustained transmission might make many gonorrhoea cases untreatable.

To address this, the authors conclude that “enhanced antimicrobial resistance surveillance (ideally including test of cure and whole-genome sequencing), nationally and internationally, particularly in Asia where many ceftriaxone-resistant strains appear to have emerged, is of highest importance. Ultimately, novel antimicrobials for effective treatment of gonorrhoea and/or a sufficiently effective gonococcal vaccine will be crucial”.
 

—-Ends—-

References/notes to editors:
[1] Pleininger Sonja, Indra Alexander, Golparian Daniel, Heger Florian, Schindler Stefanie, Jacobsson Susanne, Heidler Stefan, Unemo Magnus. Extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Neisseria gonorrhoeae causing possible gonorrhoea treatment failure with ceftriaxone plus azithromycin in Austria, April 2022. Euro Surveill. 2022;27(24):pii=2200455. Available from: https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.24.2200455

[2] Epidemiological data on STI are available for 30 European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) countries that participate in the European STI Surveillance Network and report through the European Surveillance System (TESSy). However, information is scarce from the non-EU/EEA countries of the WHO European Region.

[3] Gonorrhoea, caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria, is the second most notified sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the EU/EEA after chlamydia. Urethral infections in men and uro-genital infections in women are the main presenting feature, but a broad spectrum of clinical presentations can occur, including systemic dissemination with fever and skin and joint involvement. Throat and ano-rectal infections also occur.

Urethral symptoms and vaginal discharge may appear after a short incubation (2–7 days following exposure), but in women cervicitis may remain without symptoms. Once a diagnosis is made, uncomplicated gonorrhoea is usually cured by a single dose of a suitable antibiotic. Partner notification and treatment is essential to curtail transmission. See: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/gonorrhoea/facts

Without adequate treatment, STIs may have serious long-term health consequences, such as reproductive health complications and increased risk of acquiring HIV or cancers. STI surveillance is essential for the development of STI programmes, advocacy and management of cases.
Data on gonorrhoea for the countries of the European Union and European Economic Area is available online: http://atlas.ecdc.europa.eu/public/index.aspx?Dataset=27&HealthTopic=21&Indicator=532406&GeoResolution=2&TimeResolution=Year&StartTime=1990&EndTime=2019&CurrentTime=2019&Distribution=532411&DistributionRepresentation=B&TimeSeries=region&TimeSeriesRepresentation=T



Journal

Eurosurveillance

DOI

10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.24.2200455

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Neisseria gonorrhoeae causing possible gonorrhoea treatment failure with ceftriaxone plus azithromycin in Austria, April 2022

Article Publication Date

16-Jun-2022

COI Statement

None declared

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

blank

Decoding Cellular Motion Through Spatial Transcriptomics

July 16, 2025
blank

Maternal BMI’s Impact on Offspring Metabolism Revealed

July 16, 2025

Triggering Bacterial Calcification to Combat MRSA

July 15, 2025

Microbiota Boosts Tumor Immunity via Dendritic Cells

July 14, 2025

POPULAR NEWS

  • Enhancing Broiler Growth: Mannanase Boosts Performance with Reduced Soy and Energy

    Enhancing Broiler Growth: Mannanase Boosts Performance with Reduced Soy and Energy

    73 shares
    Share 29 Tweet 18
  • New Organic Photoredox Catalysis System Boosts Efficiency, Drawing Inspiration from Photosynthesis

    54 shares
    Share 22 Tweet 14
  • IIT Researchers Unveil Flying Humanoid Robot: A Breakthrough in Robotics

    53 shares
    Share 21 Tweet 13
  • AI Achieves Breakthrough in Drug Discovery by Tackling the True Complexity of Aging

    70 shares
    Share 28 Tweet 18

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Decoding Cellular Motion Through Spatial Transcriptomics

Maternal BMI’s Impact on Offspring Metabolism Revealed

Flowering Plant Gene Regulation: Recruitment, Rewiring, Conservation

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.