Fisabio is involved in a study that found increased resistance to antibiotics in gonorrhea.

VALENCIA (EP). An international study involving the Genomics and Health Unit of the Valencian Community Foundation for Health and Biomedical Research (Fisabio), has revealed an increase in resistance to the antibiotic azithromycin, which treats the pathogen that causes gonorrhea, in Europe.. Thus, the drug no longer “reacts” in the same way, so there is a risk in current treatment practices and there is a need to develop new public health strategies.

Azithromycin is an indispensable drug in the treatment of gonorrhea in combination with the antibiotic ceftriaxone. Work published in the journal Lanceolate microbefound that antibiotic resistance in these bacteria has stabilized at “relatively high” levels, making treatments increasingly ineffective in fighting the infection.

Moreover, the prevalence of this sexually transmitted infection has increased in recent years, so these results pose a “significant” challenge for its control and treatment, the Generalitat said in a statement.

Researcher from the field of genomics and health Fisabio, Leonor Sanchez, indicated that the results of this study “underscore the importance of continued surveillance and the use of advanced technologies, such as whole-genome sequencing, to monitor and understand how antibiotic resistance evolves.” Additionally, he emphasized “the need to continually adapt and improve public health strategies in the face of new threats such as antibiotic resistance.”

The analysis compares antibiotic resistance data and genomic characteristics of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the causative agent of gonorrhea in Europe, across three different time periods: 2013, 2018 and 2020. This retrospective genomic study allowed us to study the population of these bacteria in 2020. , early in the Covid-19 pandemic, and identify circulating strains with predominant antibiotic resistance and specific genomic characteristics.

This allowed us to examine how gonorrhea resistance patterns and epidemiology have changed over time in the European context. When analyzing this data during 2020, a decrease in “circulating gonococcal lineages” was identified, which can be attributed to decreased movement between countries due to pandemic restrictions.

Samples from more than 20 countries

For this analysis, samples of this bacterium were previously collected from more than 20 European countries as part of the European Gonorrhea Antimicrobial Surveillance Program (Euro-GASP), coordinated by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). All underwent full genome sequencing at the World Health Organization collaborating center Örebro University Hospital (Sweden) and were then analyzed in collaboration with Fisabio.

To combat this resistance, the paper proposes the development of new treatment options and recommends strengthening international cooperation on antibiotic surveillance to improve the global response to this growing threat. In this sense, this study not only provides a strong scientific basis for future public health policy, but also acts as a “call to action” to prevent possible failure in the fight against this sexually transmitted disease.