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Emergence of gonorrhea, once easily curable with penicillin as a "superbug"
In the last half of the twentieth century, a situation developed which was often described as an "[[arms race]]" between doctors and bacteria. Bacteria kept developing resistance to drugs, but researchers and drug companies kept ahead of them by developing new drugs. Drug company representatives combed the world collecting soil samples and biological specimens, looking for useful antibiotics in nature, while chemists tried to synthesize new antibiotics in the laboratory. The 1960s saw the emergence of a number of synthetic penicillin-like drugs, such as ampicillin, amoxicillin, and cloxacillin. But by the 1990s the development and discovery of entirely new classes of antibiotics appeared to have reached an end; scientists only managed to make improvements within existing classes of drugs.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/background_briefings/antibiotics/163997.stm A brief history of antibiotics], BBC news</ref> There is widespread concern that the bugs are catching up. The generation now approaching retirement may be the only human generation in history to live its entire life free from the mortal dread of bacterial infection.
In the last half of the twentieth century, a situation developed which was often described as an "[[arms race]]" between doctors and bacteria. Bacteria kept developing resistance to drugs, but researchers and drug companies kept ahead of them by developing new drugs. Drug company representatives combed the world collecting soil samples and biological specimens, looking for useful antibiotics in nature, while chemists tried to synthesize new antibiotics in the laboratory. The 1960s saw the emergence of a number of synthetic penicillin-like drugs, such as ampicillin, amoxicillin, and cloxacillin. But by the 1990s the development and discovery of entirely new classes of antibiotics appeared to have reached an end; scientists only managed to make improvements within existing classes of drugs.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/background_briefings/antibiotics/163997.stm A brief history of antibiotics], BBC news</ref> There is widespread concern that the bugs are catching up. The generation now approaching retirement may be the only human generation in history to live its entire life free from the mortal dread of bacterial infection.
Gonorrhea, for example, was once regarded as easily curable with penicillin. In the 1980s, penicillin-resistant strains developed, but gonorrhea was still not considered dangerous; it was still curable, it just required newer antibiotics, and the main public health concern was that as a result it was more expensive to treat. In 2007, it emerged as a "superbug" for which a single treatment option is still effective. Thus, although standard references still say "In most cases, the disease can be cured by adequate treatment with a fluoroquinolone or cephalosporin antibiotic,"<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/65/go/gonorrhe.html Gonorrhea], the Columbia Encyclopedia]</ref> the Center for Disease Control now finds that resistance to the fluoroquinolones is so widespread that it no longer recommends them as a treatment for gonorrhea in the United States.<ref>[http://www.rxpgnews.com/infectiousdiseases/Few_Treatment_Options_Remain_for_One_of_Nation_s_Most_Common_STDs_23595.shtml Few Treatment Options Remain for Gonorrhea], RxPG news; [http://www.drkoop.com/newsdetail/93/603672.html http://www.drkoop.com/newsdetail/93/603672.html CDC Recommends New Antibiotics for Gonorrhea], Dr. Koop website</ref>.
There is controversy over the best policies to keep drug-resistant strains in check. In the 1940s the medical profession began lobbying to make antibiotics available only through prescription to prevent overuse, and educating doctors to be prudent in prescribing them. However, antibiotics are widely added to livestock feed to prevent infection and promote growth, and critics charge that the practice has encouraged the emergence of resistant strains, a charge which the agribusiness industry and the USDA deny.
There is controversy over the best policies to keep drug-resistant strains in check. In the 1940s the medical profession began lobbying to make antibiotics available only through prescription to prevent overuse, and educating doctors to be prudent in prescribing them. However, antibiotics are widely added to livestock feed to prevent infection and promote growth, and critics charge that the practice has encouraged the emergence of resistant strains, a charge which the agribusiness industry and the USDA deny.