'Incurable' Gonorrhea Hits North America

There's a new reason to stock up on condoms. An "incurable" (or at least, antibiotic-resistant) strain of gonorrhea has made its way across the pond to North America, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. At least nine Canadian patients have failed to respond to the typical dose of cefixime, one of the last antibiotics able to treat the STD. "We've heard of such cases in Asia and Europe," one CDC doctor tells NPR. "It's very concerning."

The WHO started warning of the dangers of drug-resistant gonorrhea back in June, predicting that in a few years gonorrhea might be able to resist any available treatment. That isn't the case yet however; all nine Canadian patients were, eventually, cured, most with an injectable antibiotic, CBS News reports. (More gonorrhea stories.)