The infection that most escapes antibiotics triples in Catalonia

BarcelonaThe relentless rise in sexually transmitted infections in Catalonia in recent years has led to more than 40,000 cases being diagnosed in a single year for the first time. This is not an isolated increase: these infections are a public health problem across Europe, which health authorities attribute to a paradigm shift in sexual behavior, particularly among young people, who use condoms less, have more sexual partners, and engage in more high-risk behaviors. One of the infections causing particular concern is gonorrhea, which, according to a study, has tripled in recent years in Catalonia: the incidence of the disease has increased by 236% since 2019, reaching 152.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the 2022-2023 period.

The research, published in the journal European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases

, also warns of growing resistance to drugs. Although gonorrhea can be treated with antibiotics, the accelerated outbreak of cases increases the risk that no treatments will be available in the future. The bacteria's ability to evade these medications increases the more they are exposed to the drug. Therefore, if sexually transmitted infections increase, more people will need antibiotics, and there will be a greater risk of developing resistance.

The analysis of Catalan samples shows high levels of resistance to various antibiotics, especially ciprofloxacin, which is no longer considered suitable for treatment because seven out of ten cases analyzed are resistant to it. Tetracycline, which is no longer effective in almost half of gonorrhea cases, and azithromycin, which fails in one out of five cases, are heading in the same direction. The results obtained with this latter antibiotic particularly concern the authors, as clinical guidelines include it as part of the therapy, precisely for resistant cases.

Diagnosis and prevention

The study also identifies a higher probability of resistance in adults aged 25 and over and in extragenital infections, such as when detected in the anus. For all these reasons, the authors insist on the need for an adequate diagnosis that includes all possible locations of the infection. They also insist on strengthening infection prevention measures and raising public awareness for early diagnosis in order to curb the spread of resistant strains.

Gonorrhea is a common sexually transmitted infection that, if not treated promptly, can lead to serious complications, especially in women, as it can increase the risk of ectopic pregnancy and infertility. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers gonorrhea to be a priority pathogen for the scientific community due to both its rapid spread and its ability to evade the antibiotic effects of first-line treatment. is a priority pathogen for the scientific community both for its rapid spread and because it is capable of evading the antibiotic effects of first-line treatment. 

Last year, the prestigious scientific journal The Lancet reminded in a strong editorial that antimicrobial resistance is considered one of the main global health challenges. "The emergence of different forms of resistance toN. gonorrhoeae is often followed by a rapid spread of the disease, and in fact, the prevalence of gonorrhea has increased in the last five years. What we are seeing [with gonorrhea] could easily spread to other bacteria," it warned.