KINGSTON, Jamaica, Jan 22 2017 – Researchers at the University of the West Indies (UWI) are becoming concerned about the rate at which Jamaica is seeing some sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which are becoming resistant to antibiotic treatment.
To counter this growing threat, the researchers are embarking on a study to test the effectiveness of the medication used to treat the STI gonorrhoea across the island.
“We are about to embark on a study where we go down to the clinics where they see those patients and collect swabs on all the patients,” said Dr Alison Nicholson, head of the Department of Microbiology at the University of the West Indies.
“It is not just a matter of treating them, we want the samples so we can grow the thing for ourselves and test it against the drugs.
“We have actually written up the proposal and are in the process of getting ethics approval to conduct the study. Only then we will know what is happening in our local population,” added Nicholson.
She said the study is slated to start in weeks and will cover clinics islandwide.
According to Nicholson, while persons diagnosed with gonorrhoea in Jamaica are usually treated effectively, there may be cases of resistance which local medical personnel are not aware of, and the study is designed to determine if this is the case.
Worldwide, dozens of antibiotic treatments are being rendered useless as some STIs have become immune due to misuse and overuse of the drugs in recent the years.
Last August, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued new guidelines for the treatment of three common STIs in response to the growing threat of antibiotic resistance.
The WHO noted that chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis are all caused by bacteria and are generally curable with antibiotics.
However, these STIs often go undiagnosed and are becoming more difficult to treat, with some antibiotics now failing as a result of misuse and overuse.
The WHO estimated that worldwide each year, 131 million people are infected with chlamydia, 78 million with gonorrhoea, and 5.6 million with syphilis. (Jamaica Gleaner)
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