Gonorrhoea: past, present and future
Evgeny A Semchenko A , Xiaofan Chen A , Caroline Thng B , Maree O’Sullivan B and Kate L Seib A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Southport, Qld 4215, Australia
B Gold Coast Sexual Health, Southport Community Health Precinct, Southport, Qld 4215, Australia
C Tel: +61 7 555 27453, Email: k.seib@griffith.edu.au
Microbiology Australia 41(4) 205-209 https://doi.org/10.1071/MA20055
Published: 20 October 2020
Abstract
The sexually transmitted infection (STI) gonorrhoea is an ancient human disease caused by the Gram-negative bacterial pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Despite decades of research focused on preventing, diagnosing, and treating gonorrhoea, it remains a major global health concern due to its high prevalence, high rates of asymptomatic cases, the severe sequelae that can result from untreated infections, and the increasing difficulty in treating infections caused by multi-drug resistant strains of N. gonorrhoeae. It is estimated that there are more than 87 million cases of gonorrhoea worldwide each year, and the WHO, CDC and Australian National Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Strategy have prioritised N. gonorrhoeae as an urgent public health threat for which new therapeutics and a vaccine are needed.
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