Gonorrhoea may soon be untreatable, Britain's top doctor warns

London

SALLY Davies, Britain's chief medical officer, has reportedly written to doctors and pharmacies in Britain sounding the alarm on antibiotic resistant gonorrhoea.

The sexually transmitted infection is increasingly caused by strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae that resist antibiotic treatment. "Gonorrhoea is at risk of becoming an untreatable disease due to the continuing emergence of antimicrobial resistance," Dr Davies wrote. The Guardian reports that a recent outbreak of a superbug strain of the disease - one that doesn't respond to the antibiotic azithromycin - has put Britain on high alert.