Man contracts 'super gonorrhea' infection that is resistant to medicine

An unfortunate man has contracted an antibiotic-resistant “super gonorrhoea” after having sex on holiday.

The anonymous Austrian man in his 50s came back with the unwanted holiday memento after contracting it while engaging in unprotected sex.

Super gonorrhoea is the name for the antibiotic-resistant strain of the STI and is one souvenir no one wants to return with.

According to a study featured in the journal Eurosurveillance: “The case from Austria reported about condom-less sexual contact with a female sex worker in Cambodia 5 days before onset of symptoms.

“A limitation of our study is that the female sex worker could not be traced.”

There is no known vaccine for the STI and typically it is treated with antibiotics, with the study saying: “Early and effective diagnosis and antimicrobial treatment of gonorrhoea are essential.”

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But with antibiotic resistant strains, this is obviously not possible and has the potential to become a global health concern.

If left untreated, the gonorrhoea infection can spread throughout the body and can even become life-threatening in the worst case.

In 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a warning on super gonorrhoea and explained that overuse of antibiotics is contributing to the issue.

A WHO spokesperson told The Sun: “Overuse of antibiotics in the community can fuel the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in gonorrhoea.

“Azithromycin - a common antibiotic for treating respiratory infections - was used for Covid-19 treatment earlier in the epidemic.

“During the pandemic, STI services have also been disrupted. This means more STI cases are not diagnosed properly with more people self-medicating as a result.

“Such a situation can fuel emergence of resistance in gonorrhoea including gonorrhoea superbug (super gonorrhoea) or gonorrhoea with high level resistance to current antibiotics recommended to treat it.”

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