Federal health officials are warning that antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea, one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, is increasingly prolific across the United States. New data from 26 U.S. cities show the number of resistant gonorrhea cases is rising dramatically, jumping from less than 1 percent of all gonorrhea cases to more than 13 percent in less than five years, the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. The new data released in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report also shows that fluoroquinolone-resistant gonorrhea is now widespread in the United States among heterosexuals and men who have sex with men. According to the report, the proportion of drug-resistant cases among heterosexuals has risen above the recognized threshold of 5 percent for changing treatment recommendations. CDC had recommended fluoroquinolones no longer be used to treat gonorrhea in men who have sex with men when this threshold was crossed in earlier years. The CDC advised doctors treating gonorrhea to immediately stop using ciprofloxacin, marketed as Cipro, and other antibiotics in its class, which have been the first line of defense against the disease, and resort to an older class of drugs to ensure patients are cured and do […]