Difference between revisions of "Phage therapy"

    :Sulfonamides - Over a period of only 9 years, 30 percent of gonorrhea strains became resistant to treatment with sulfonamides. They stopped being used in the mid-1940s and were replaced by penicillin.

    :Penicillin - Although initially quite effective, required penicillin doses for gonorrhea treatment climbed significantly over time, until eventually, in the 1980s, U.S. doctors stopped using penicillin to treat gonorrhea.

    :Tetracycline - In the 1980s, tetracycline also ceased being a first-line treatment option due to the spread of treatment-resistant gonorrhea strains.

    :Fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, levofloxacin) - In 2007, the CDC changed their gonorrhea treatment guidelines to remove single-dose fluoroquinolones from the recommended list. Fluoroquinolone-resistant strains have been identified around the world, including in many areas of the U.S. The prevalence of fluoroquinolone-resistant gonorrhea in California went from less than one percent of infections in 1999 to over 20 percent in 2003.

    :Oral Cephalosporins (ceftriaxone, cefixime) - Cephalosporin-resistant gonorrhea strains were first identified in Asia and Australia and have been slowly becoming more common around the globe. As of August 2012, oral cephalosporins are no longer recommended for the treatment of gonorrhea in the United States. Between 2006 and 2011, the percentage of gonorrhea strains resistant to these drugs went up more than ten-fold in many areas of the U.S. Cefixime is no longer recommended for gonorrhea treatment at all, except in cases where ceftriaxone can not be used.  

    :Combination Treatment with Injectable Cephalosporins - As of August, 2012, the recommended treatment for gonorrhea is one injection of 250 mg ceftriaxone. This is combined with either a single oral dose of 1 g azithromycin or a week of taking 100 mg oral doxycycline twice a day. To date, few gonorrhea strains are resistant to both types of antibiotic. However, this not be true forever. There are alternate treatment regimens available for people allergic to ceftriaxone, but they require patients to return for a second test to make certain they have been cured.