Azithromycin Resistance Rises in European Gonorrhoea Cases
The 2022 antimicrobial resistance (AMR) data for Neisseria gonorrhoeae from the European Gonococcal Antimicrobial Surveillance Programme (Euro-GASP) indicated a substantial rise in resistance to azithromycin and ciprofloxacin; however, resistance levels for ceftriaxone and cefixime remained low.
METHODOLOGY:
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to examine AMR data from the 2022 Euro-GASP and compared it with the most recently published data from 2016 to 2019 to identify changes in AMR over time.
Overall, 3008 N gonorrhoeae isolates from 23 European countries were analysed for their susceptibility to antimicrobials — ceftriaxone, cefixime, azithromycin, and ciprofloxacin.
isolates from 23 European countries were analysed for their susceptibility to antimicrobials — ceftriaxone, cefixime, azithromycin, and ciprofloxacin. Tests for antimicrobial susceptibility were performed using minimal inhibitory concentration gradient strip tests as per the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing.
TAKEAWAY:
Gonorrhoea cases among women increased significantly in 2022, rising to 19.2% from 15.8% in 2019 ( P = .0004) and 15.3% in 2016 ( P = .0002); however, cases decreased among men.
= .0004) and 15.3% in 2016 ( = .0002); however, cases decreased among men. A significant increase in azithromycin resistance (24.9% vs 9%; P = .0002) and ciprofloxacin resistance (65.8% vs 57.4%; P = .0002) was observed in 2022 vs 2019.
= .0002) and ciprofloxacin resistance (65.8% vs 57.4%; = .0002) was observed in 2022 vs 2019. The risk for azithromycin resistance increased by nearly threefold in men who have sex with men (odds ratio, 2.85; P = .0040).
= .0040). Cefixime resistance declined from 0.8% in 2019 to 0.3% in 2022 ( P = .014), with higher cases observed among women. Ceftriaxone resistance remained low at 0.03% in 2022, similar to that seen in previous years.
IN PRACTICE:
"The only long-term solution for effective management and control of gonorrhoea is likely a gonococcal vaccine," the authors wrote.
SOURCE:
This study was led by Susanne Jacobsson, WHO Collaborating Centre for Gonorrhoea and Other STIs, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden. It was published online on May 10, 2025, in The Lancet Regional Health - Europe .
LIMITATIONS:
This study faced issues with insufficient coverage and incomplete reporting of epidemiologic and clinical variables, with a predominance of urogenital specimens and limited samples from anorectal and oropharyngeal sites.
DISCLOSURES:
This study was supported by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The ECDC had a Framework Service Contract with Örebro University Hospital to coordinate the Euro-GASP. The UK Health Security Agency was subcontracted for this study. The authors reported having no conflicts of interest.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Idorsia publishes invitations to bondholder meetings
Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR Bondholder meetings will take place on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, to vote on proposals to amend the terms of the two outstanding convertible bonds CB 2025 and CB 2028 Allschwil, Switzerland – June 6, 2025Idorsia Ltd (SIX: IDIA) today announced that following the expiry of the appeal period for the amended terms approved at the CB 2025 bondholder meeting of February 25, 2025 – during which no appeal was filed – it has published invitations to the next bondholder meetings for holders of its outstanding CHF 200 million convertible bonds maturing in 2025 (CB 2025; ISIN CH0426820350), and CHF 600 million convertible bonds maturing in 2028 (CB 2028; ISIN CH1128004079). At the meetings, the company will propose changing the current terms of the CB 2025 and CB 2028 as part of the larger holistic restructuring, as announced in a press release on February 26, 2025, and an update published on May 21, 2025. To date, approximately 87% of the holders of the CB 2025 and 90% of holders of the CB 2028 have entered a legally binding lockup agreement in support of the holistic restructuring. Such bondholders have committed to vote in favour of the proposed amendments to the terms of the CB 2025 and CB 2028 at or before the meeting. The amendment of the terms of the CB 2025 and CB 2028 will be conditional on the consummation of the exchange offer, which is expected to be launched around or following the date of the bondholder meetings. Bondholders can access the invitations to the two bondholder meetings scheduled for Wednesday, June 25, 2025, including the terms of the resolution and additional information about the meeting, as well as a financial status report as of April 30, 2025, at the following links: and Notes to the editor About IdorsiaIdorsia Ltd is reaching out for more – we have more passion for science, we see more opportunities, and we want to help more patients. The purpose of Idorsia is to challenge accepted medical paradigms, answering the questions that matter most. To achieve this, we will discover, develop, and commercialize transformative medicines – either with in-house capabilities or together with partners – and evolve Idorsia into a leading biopharmaceutical company, with a strong scientific core. Headquartered near Basel, Switzerland – a European biotech hub – Idorsia has a highly experienced team of dedicated professionals, covering all disciplines from bench to bedside; QUVIVIQ™ (daridorexant), a different kind of insomnia treatment with the potential to revolutionize this mounting public health concern; strong partners to maximize the value of our portfolio; a promising in-house development pipeline; and a specialized drug discovery engine focused on small-molecule drugs that can change the treatment paradigm for many patients. Idorsia is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ticker symbol: IDIA). For further information, please contact:Investor & Media RelationsIdorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Hegenheimermattweg 91, CH-4123 Allschwil+41 58 844 10 – – The above information contains certain "forward-looking statements", relating to the company's business, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "estimates", "believes", "expects", "may", "are expected to", "will", "will continue", "should", "would be", "seeks", "pending" or "anticipates" or similar expressions, or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. Such statements include descriptions of the company's investment and research and development programs and anticipated expenditures in connection therewith, descriptions of new products expected to be introduced by the company and anticipated customer demand for such products and products in the company's existing portfolio. Such statements reflect the current views of the company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Attachment Press Release PDF
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Race and genetics do not line up well, new study confirms
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The racial and ethnic groups people identify with may not accurately represent their genetic backgrounds or ancestries, a new study of people in the United States suggests. This discrepancy between people's self-reported identities and their genetics is important for scientists to acknowledge as they strive to develop medical treatments tailored to different patients, the researchers behind the study say. "This paper is very important because it clarifies at the highest resolution the relationship between genomic diversity and racial/ethnic categories in the US," said study co-author Eduardo Tarazona-Santos, a professor of human population genetics at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The findings are "critical to develop appropriate precision medicine solutions for all," he told Live Science in an email. Precision medicine tailors treatments to individual patients, taking their genes, environment and lifestyle factors into account. In their study, published Thursday (June 5) in The American Journal of Human Genetics, Tarazona-Santos and his colleagues analyzed the DNA of more than 230,000 people who contributed to the All of Us research database. This trove of data has been compiled through a National Institutes of Health program aimed at advancing precision medicine by recruiting people from diverse and underrepresented populations. Historically, many large-scale genetics studies have predominantly included people of European ancestry, making efforts like the All of Us project crucial for reducing medical inequity. However, the program has faced significant funding cuts in recent months, which has significantly slowed recruitment and progress. Related: What's the difference between race and ethnicity? Using a method called principal component analysis, the team identified genetic similarities and differences among the people included in the database. They also used genetic catalogs that contain DNA samples from all over the world, such as the 1000 Genomes Project, as a way to assess how people's genetic ancestry compared with the racial (white, Black or African American, Asian American) and ethnicity (Hispanic/Latino or not) categories used in the All of Us questionnaire. People who identified as being from the same racial and ethnic groups had a number of genetic differences, the team found. In fact, "most genetic variance is within race and ethnicity groups rather than between groups," the study authors wrote in the report. Rather than sorting people into "distinct clusters" divided by racial and ethnic lines, the analyses found that people within different races and ethnicities show "gradients" of genetic variation. "We found gradients of genetic variation that cut across those categories," the authors wrote. The new study's findings counter a controversial paper published in Nature in 2024 that had also analyzed genomic data provided by All of Us participants. At the time, the paper was criticized by some experts, who argued that the technique used to analyze the race and ethnicity data could be misconstrued to support the incorrect idea that humans can be neatly categorized into distinct races. The new study, which used a different data-crunching technique, found the opposite. The research also found that, even within the same ethnic and racial group, people show genetic variation across different U.S. states. This could reflect the "historical impacts of U.S. colonization, the transatlantic slave trade, and recent migrations," the authors wrote. A key example of this was seen in participants who identified as Hispanic or Latino and lived in states like California, Texas and Arizona, who were found to have a high proportion of Native American ancestry compared with Hispanic and Latino people in other parts of the U.S. This makes sense considering many of these states were historically part of Mexico, which has a large population of people with mixed Indigenous and European ancestries, the researchers argued. By contrast, of people who identified as Hispanic or Latino, those in New York were found to have the highest proportion of African ancestry, which is "consistent with recent migration from the Caribbean to New York." The authors said their findings show that the genetic backgrounds of people in the U.S. are highly complex and that "social constructs of race and ethnicity do not accurately reflect underlying genetic ancestry." In light of this, the researchers have said they "do not recommend using race and ethnicity as proxies for ancestry in genetic studies." RELATED STORIES —'Racism is a global public health crisis': Author Layal Liverpool says racist ideas still pervade medicine, and that hurts all of us —Scientific consensus shows race is a human invention, not biological reality —Racial bias is baked into algorithms doctors use to guide treatment Tesfaye Mersha, a professor of pediatrics and a human genetics researcher at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati, said that he agrees that these self-reported categories should not be used in genetic studies. Instead, the categories should be confined to social studies "where we know they will have a big impact," he told Live Science in an email. That said, Mersha also warned against overinterpreting the study's takeaways about regional and state-level genetic variation. "Some states had very low participant numbers, which may skew regional estimates and limit generalizability," he noted. "Moreover, high population mobility across states blurs geographic boundaries, especially in the absence of multigenerational ancestry data," he said. In short, because people move around a lot, it's difficult to draw conclusions without having a clear sense of how long their families have been based in a given state.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
The surprisingly relatable reason why some birds get cranky
Trafficked roads, loud noises, suffocating smog. For some people, living in the city can be stressful and unnerving. But a growing body of research shows some city birds can be more aggressive than their rural counterparts, suggesting they too feel the pressures of city life. In a study published in April in the journal Animal Behavior, researchers showed that Galápagos yellow warblers that live near trafficked roads in the Ecuadorian archipelago respond to intruders more aggressively than those living farther away from traffic. They're not the only bird species affected by city life. Numerous studies have investigated the phenomenon of angry urban birds—finding that species such as great tits, European robins, song sparrows, and dark-eyed juncos show more aggression toward each other when they live near urbanized sites. While it's clear that 'in some species of birds, urban populations are more aggressive than rural populations,' there are many different theories for why this happens, says Jeremy Hyman, a professor and department chair of biology at Western Carolina University. In the last decades, the Galápagos archipelago has seen a drastic increase in the human population, with permanent residents today increasing by six percent each year. An increase that requires more infrastructure to house more people, and more cars to move them around. This makes it a perfect 'laboratory' to study how birds respond to new, busy conditions, according to study authors. The researchers selected 38 warbler territories on two islands of the archipelago: Santa Cruz Island, and Floreana Island; both crossed by a main road used by cars. The warblers were located either near the road or at least 300 feet away. In each territory, they played recordings of traffic noise and warblers singing, which simulated an intrusion. 'Each bird was tested once with just the warbler speaker being active, and once with the warbler speaker plus the [car] noise speaker active,' says Çağlar Akçay, a behavioral ecologist at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge and study author. When exposed to the sounds of encroaching birds and car noise playing in the background, the warblers living close to the road responded more aggressively than when there was no noise playing. They also responded more aggressively to noise compared to their 'rural' counterparts—getting closer to the speakers and sometimes even attacking them. Mike Webster, an ornithologist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology who was not involved in the research, says the study is 'pretty convincing' and offers a clear look at how a single environmental change can influence behavior. '[It] really kind of helps us focus in on what the causes of the differences in behavior might be,' he says. Generally, animals that live in cities tend to be bolder and more aggressive—both characteristics that enable them to survive in such complex habitat. 'Individuals that can't deal with constant disturbance, such as noise, people, cars, etc. would be unlikely to thrive in an urban habitat,' says Hyman. Some birds may become more aggressive because cities are rich in food sources—and so there's strong competition to establish a foothold. 'Only the most aggressive males can manage to hold a territory in this place where lots and lots of birds would like to have a territory,' says Hyman. But food scarcity may also make some urban species more aggressive, and so 'birds have to fight an awful lot in order to maintain a large enough territory to get the resources that they need.' High levels of stress caused by noise and other factors might also play a role in making birds more aggressive, notes Hyman. But does being more aggressive enhance your chances of survival? In some cases, aggression seems to be 'a worthwhile cost', says Sarah Foltz, a behavioral ecologist at Radford University. One study that looked at song sparrows living in southwest Virginia showed that aggression didn't impact how much bird parents invested in their offspring. Female birds even spent as much and sometimes more time at the nest than their less aggressive rural counterparts. Overall, the benefits of being more aggressive seem to depend on the kind of habitat the birds are in. For some species, like the song sparrow, some urban areas offer suitable habitats with more food and fewer predators. They might become more aggressive to defend it, and ensure a good habitat were to raise their offspring—and so have better chance of survival. Another 'big unanswered question,' says Hyman, is whether birds learn to be aggressive during their lifetime, or if birds born in urban populations have some measure of aggression encoded in their genes. 'There's little bits of evidence on both sides,' he says. But what scientists do know is that some birds can be highly adaptable. 'Aggression definitely has a genetic component to it,' says Foltz. 'But also, we know that when we change environmental factors, birds change their aggression' Overall, Foltz says scientists are still trying to understand just how much urban density different species can tolerate and which characteristics of an urban environment influence aggressiveness the most. 'We've got all these little pieces,' she says, 'But it's still coming together to make a bigger picture, so it's sort of an unfinished puzzle.'
