Drug-resistant gonorrhoea could be treated with a UTI antibiotic
An antibiotic that is commonly used for urinary tract infections effectively treated gonorrhoea, and may even work against drug-resistant cases
By Carissa Wong
14 April 2025
Illustration of Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria releasing DNA (light blue) with antibiotic resistance genes (yellow)
NANOCLUSTERING/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Gonorrhoea is resistant to nearly all antibiotics, but one commonly used for urinary tract infections (UTIs) may be able to treat drug-resistant cases.
The sexually transmitted infection (STI) is caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a bacterium that can infect various parts of the body, including the genitals and urethra. Common symptoms include a burning pain when urinating and discharge from the vagina or penis. If left untreated, the infection can raise the risk of infertility and premature birth.
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Standard treatment involves an injection of ceftriaxone, the last antibiotic that works against most N. gonorrhoeae strains, but some have evolved to resist this drug too, especially in Asia. “We know drug-resistant strains will spread elsewhere. In fact, we’ve already seen this with cases in North America and Europe that were imported from Asia,” says Vanessa Allen at the University of Toronto in Canada, who wasn’t involved in the study.
If ceftriaxone doesn’t work, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a subsequent dose of another class of antibiotics, but it is only a matter of time before completely untreatable strains emerge, as bacteria are constantly evolving to evade antibiotics, says Allen.
In an attempt to buy some time, Caroline Perry at pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline in Pennsylvania and her colleagues looked at around 400 people with N. gonorrhoeae infections in their genitals and urinary tracts. About half were randomly assigned to take two oral doses of the antibiotic gepotidacin. Commonly used for UTIs, this isn’t recommended to treat gonorrhoea, but it showed promise in a smaller trial.
