Gonorrhea

Why in News?

• A strand of antimicrobial-resistant gonorrhoea outbreak has recently hit Kenya. Researchers have raised alarm, warning this infection is asymptomatic in some cases and can cause significant health challenges, including permanent damage to their reproductive systems.

Highlights

• Gonorrhoea is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
• It can infect both men and women and can occur in the genitals, rectum, and throat.
• If left untreated, gonorrhoea can cause serious health problems, including infertility and an increased risk of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection.
• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is the second-most common disease to be sexually transmitted across the world after chlamydia.
• Gonorrhoea is typically treated with antibiotics, but the bacteria have become increasingly resistant to many of the drugs that were once effective.
• Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the ability of microorganisms (such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites) to resist the effects of antimicrobial drugs (such as antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, and antiparasitics).
• Also, Microorganisms that develop antimicrobial resistance are sometimes referred to as “superbugs”.
• AMR increases the risk of infections spreading and becoming harder to treat, leading to prolonged illness, disability and death.
• It also increases healthcare costs and threatens the sustainability of healthcare systems.
• The National Health Policy 2017 highlights the problem of antimicrobial resistance and calls for effective action to address it.
• The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) identified AMR as one of the top 10 priorities for the ministry’s collaborative work with the World Health Organization (WHO).
• India has instituted surveillance of the emergence of drug resistance in disease causing microbes in programmes on Tuberculosis, Vector Borne diseases, Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), etc.