New treatments offer hope against drug-resistant gonorrhea

Gonorrhea cases are rising sharply in Sweden, while researchers are exploring new antibiotics and other ways to treat infections, SVT reports. Some strains have developed resistance to several antibiotics, raising concerns about future treatment options.

“It will never be as it was thought in the 1980s, that we now have enough alternatives and everything is fine,” said Fredrik Almqvist, a professor of organic chemistry at Umeå University. “I am hopeful that there is an incredible amount of good research under way.”

Most cases of gonorrhea can still be treated with antibiotics. However, the European infectious disease agency has identified Sweden as one of the countries where drug-resistant gonorrhea is a particular concern.

The development is part of a broader trend in which bacteria adapt when exposed to medicines. Infections can become serious when the immune system is weakened, for example by cancer treatment. Without effective antibiotics, many common medical procedures also become riskier.

A new type of antibiotic called zoliflodacin may provide another option against antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea. But new antibiotics must be used sparingly to preserve their effectiveness.

Researchers seek alternatives

One approach is not to kill the bacteria, but to disarm them by blocking their ability to cause infection. Another involves bacteriophages, viruses that can attack specific bacteria.

Combinations of treatments could also become important. If two substances attack a bacterium in different ways, it becomes harder for the bacterium to develop resistance to both at the same time.

“The race against resistance will never end, but more approaches could leave healthcare better prepared the next time a bacterium changes,” Almqvist said.

Sweden recorded 4,268 gonorrhea cases in 2025, equivalent to 40 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. So far in 2026, 2,601 cases have been reported, or 24.53 per 100,000 inhabitants. The number of cases has more than doubled since 2016.

In 2025, nine cases of ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhea were reported, with signs that the strain was spreading within Sweden. The figures were provided by the Swedish Public Health Agency.