Antibiotic resistance in gonorrhea Antibiotic resistance in gonorrhea The Gonorrhea bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae has developed antibiotic resistance to many antibiotics. The bacteria was first identified in 1879, although some Biblical scholars believe that references to the disease can be found as early as Parshat Metzora of the Old Testament. In the 1940s effective treatment with penicillin became available, but by the 1970s resistant strains predominated. Resistance to penicillin has developed through two mechanisms: chromasomally mediated resistance (CMRNG) and penicillinase-mediated resistance (PPNG). CMRNG involves step wise mutation of penA, which codes for the penicillin-binding protein (PBP-2); mtr, which encodes an efflux pump that removes penicillin
Antibiotic use of antibiotics in modern medicine began with the discovery of synthetic antibiotics derived from dyes. Synthetic antibiotic chemotherapy as a science and development of antibacterials began in Germany with Paul Ehrlich in the late 1880s. Ehrlich noted certain dyes would color human, animal, or bacterial cells, whereas others did not. He then proposed the idea that it might be possible to create chemicals that would act as a selective drug that would bind to and kill bacteria without harming the human host. After screening hundreds of dyes against various organisms, in 1907, he discovered a medicinally useful drug, the