Digest: WHO warns gonorrhea may become untreatable

Gonorrhea may become untreatable as the improper use of antibiotics reduces the body's ability to clear the sexually transmitted infection, the World Health Organization said Thursday.

There is now "widespread resistance" to cheaper first-line antibiotics against the bacterium that causes gonorrhea, the WHO's Western Pacific regional office said in a statement. The agency said Australia, Hong Kong and Japan have reported treatment failures with cephalosporin, a class of antibiotics that is the last line of defense against the disease.