Prognosis
A Superbug Needs to Be Stopped. A Glaxo Vaccine May Slow It Down
- Bexsero meningococcal shot is linked to lower gonorrhea risk
- Antimicrobial resistance threatens to render STI untreatable
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New Zealand managed to quell an infectious child-killer with the help of a new type of vaccine. A decade later, scientists in the South Pacific nation found it may be critical combating an age-old, sexually transmitted infection that’s making a comeback: gonorrhea.
That’s spurring optimism that the fast-spreading disease could be slowed using a vaccine already on the market to prevent its bacterial cousin -- a strain of the so-called meningococcal bacterium notorious for causing potentially deadly meningitis epidemics in college dorms, such as the recent ones on campuses in San Diego and Massachusetts. While gonorrhea isn’t life-threatening, it’s now on the verge of becoming unstoppable due to antibiotic resistance.