Gonorrhea is becoming drug resistant, according to a statement April 29 by the World Health Organization.

Japan, Australia and Hong Kong have all reported cases of resistance to cephalosporin, the main drug used to treat it, which led to the World Health Organization’s statement.

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection and has a history of becoming drug resistant.

“Over the years, we’ve seen shifts in the resistance patterns. It’s from overuse of antibiotics,” said Dr. Wayne Trout, an obstetrician and gynecologist at the Ohio State University Medical Center, who researches infectious diseases.

The first drug gonorrhea became resistant to was penicillin.

Although gonorrhea might become resistant to certain drugs, it will still be treatable.

Now, when patients are diagnosed with gonorrhea, they take antibiotics in the form of a single shot or pill. In the future, they might have to take multiple shots or a week’s worth of pills, Trout said.

“The medical community has its finger on this pulse and has for a long time,” Trout said.

Gonorrhea is a concern for OSU students, even if it is treatable.
People younger than 25 in a new sexual relationship should be
tested, Trout said.

“Choose your partner wisely. Get tested. Use protection,” Trout said.

Out of 2,000 OSU students, 0.1 percent said they had been treated for gonorrhea in the past 12 months, according to a 2009 survey.

Also, Franklin County has a higher rate of gonorrhea cases than the rest of Ohio, according to the Ohio Department of Health. The average rate of gonorrhea diagnoses in Ohio is 144 out of 100,000. For Franklin County, the average rate is 308 out of 100,000.

Gonorrhea is highest among adolescents and young adults, between the ages of 15 and 29.

In Franklin County, more than 3,000 people were diagnosed with gonorrhea in 2008. About 95 percent of them were between 15 and 29, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

Typically, gonorrhea infects the urethra in men and women. It can also infect a woman’s cervix, uterus and fallopian tubes, which can make symptoms harder to spot.

A green, yellow or white discharge or painful urination are common symptoms in both men and women.

Anal, oral and vaginal sex can spread gonorrhea, and it can infect the throat and anal cavity. In these cases, the symptoms might not be as visible, Trout said.

Early prevention and treatment are encouraged because of gonorrhea’s long-term effects, such as sterility in men and pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility in women.

Male and female condoms significantly reduce the risk of gonorrhea, and a urine test is used to detect it in both men and women.

Condoms are about 98 percent effective against some STIs, such as gonorrhea, HIV and chlamydia, if they are used consistently and correctly. Typical use reduces that number to 85 percent, said Katye Miller, wellness coordinator at OSU’s Student Wellness Center.

Condoms do not work as well against STIs spread by skin-to-skin contact, such as herpes, human papillomavirus and syphilis.

Out of 2,000 OSU students, 62.9 percent of those who were sexually active used condoms, according to a 2009 survey.

The Student Wellness Center will provide free, confidential STI testing and free, anonymous HIV testing from 3 to 7 p.m. May 20 at the Hale Center.