The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned about the rise in gonorrhea amid the COVID-19 pandemic because of the excessive use of antibiotics, which is causing resistance to the sexually transmitted infection. According to The Sun, a WHO spokesperson has said that the COVID-19 pandemic has created an ideal situation for super gonorrhea to thrive because of the sudden surge in the use of antibiotics.
The UN health body spokesperson reportedly said that the lack of STI services amid the pandemic could also be causing gonorrhea cases to rise. The spokesperson added that during the pandemic more people are self-medicating due to hospitals preoccupied with COVID-19 cases and not safe for regular visits. This could fuel an emergence of resistance in gonorrhea, including super gonorrhea or extensively drug-resistant gonorrhea with high-level resistance to the current recommended treatment such as ceftriaxone and azithromycin.