N. gonorrhoeae (also known as the gonococcus, the bacterial agent that causes the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea) is responsible for an estimated 820,000 infections a year in the US and over 106 million a year globally.
With the appearance of clinical isolates resistant to ceftriaxone and azithromycin, two of the last line antibiotics, we face a threat of treatment resistant gonorrhea. How can we slow or contain the spread of resistance? We are working with colleagues at the CDC and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute to investigate the genomic epidemiology of resistance in the United States.