Cexifime, one of several treatments for the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea, is becoming less effective against the infection, according to a CDC report.
The findings, published Nov. 3 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, reflect that although resistance fell from 2011 to 2013, it began to rise again last year. Cefixime is generally not the first line of treatment for the STD, and the CDC notes there doesn't seem to be any decrease in effectiveness of the primary drug used to treat gonorrhea.
"It is essential to continue monitoring antimicrobial susceptibility and track patterns of resistance among the antibiotics currently used to treat gonorrhea," Robert Kirkcaldy, MD, an epidemiologist in the CDC's division of STD prevention and lead study author, said in a statement. "Recent increases in cefixime resistance show our work is far from over."
The results were taken from a review of more than 51,000 samples across 34 U.S. cities.