It is the second most common STI for gay men. Currently 9% of those tested are infected. But treatment is difficult:
15 years ago , MG resistance to antibiotics was around 10-20% among patients at the Melbourne Sexual Health Clinic, but now it was closer to 80-90%.
“It is very difficult to treat this bug,” he said.
When people presenting to the clinic have a resistance to antibiotics, they are prescribed multiple rounds of antibiotic treatments, Ong said.
“Our standard treatment now is already two weeks of antibiotics and then if they are resistant, then they get an extra two weeks, and then if they are resistant to that, there’s another lot of antibiotics.
“It’s quite a lot of antibiotics.”
Doctors are recommending not treating asymptomatic people, as that will lead to greater resistance.