Generally, a combination of two drugs is given by doctors for the treatment of gonorrhea. However, according to a new study, doctors might have to find an alternate option for treating this sexually transmitted disease (STD), since one of the drugs used in its treatment, known as azithromycin, is becoming less effective.

Gonorrhea is caused by bacteria that have already developed resistance against penicillin, tetracycline and fluoroquinolones. Therefore, it is a cause of concern for researchers at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that the bacteria causing this sexually transmitted infection might become resistant to another antibiotic.

If this infection is not given appropriate treatment, it can have serious consequences on the person suffering from it. In case of females, it can lead to the emergence of pelvic inflammatory disease, which in turn can cause infertility.

In case of males, it can lead to extreme pain in tubes connected with the testicles, resulting eventually in sterility. "So far we've had no treatment failures in the United States", said the Director of CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, Dr. Jonathan Mermin.

The current suggested treatment option is giving a combination of an oral dose of azithromycin and a single ceftriaxone shot. Every month, bacterial samples are gathered from 25 men by CDC, which are then tested in lab to assess the weakness level of bacteria against different antibiotics. In 2014, 2.5% samples displayed azithromycin resistance, as compared to 0.6% in 2013.

"For patients with gonorrhea, a two-drug antibiotic punch is the usual recommended treatment, but new research found the sexually transmitted infection is less vulnerable to one of these drugs: azithromycin," according to a news report published by CNN.

"So far we've had no treatment failures in the United States," said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, the director of CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention. The center's treatment recommendation, then, continues to be an oral dose of azithromycin combined with a single shot of ceftriaxone.

The CDC has been monitoring the threat of antibiotic resistance since 1986, Mermin explained. Listening to the "chatter" is a matter of the CDC collecting bacterial samples from 25 men each month. Then, the CDC conducts laboratory tests to see how weak the bacteria are in comparison to the various antibiotic drugs intended to destroy them.

According to a story published on the topic by US News, "Antibiotic-resistant cases of the sexually transmitted illness gonorrhea have more than quadrupled in the United States. This new data, from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, should serve as a warning that "the future of current treatment options may be in jeopardy," the agency said in a news release issued Thursday."

"The confluence of emerging drug resistance and very limited alternative options for treatment creates a perfect storm for future gonorrhea treatment failure in the U.S.," said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, who directs the CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention.

"History shows us that bacteria will find a way to outlast the antibiotics we're using to treat it," Mermin said. "We are running just one step ahead in order to preserve the remaining treatment option for as long as possible."

A report published in Fox 59 informed, "The report outlines the resistance level of gonorrhea to azithromycin, one of the two drugs recommended for dual therapy treatment of the disease. The resistance level increased from 0.6 percent in 2013 to 2.5 percent in 2014. That’s a 316 percent increase in just one year."

Additionally, the CDC reports the increase wasn’t contained to just on population group, and the data shows the troubling fact that gonorrhea can rapidly develop resistance across the country, which has serious implications for treatment of this infection and control of our gonorrhea epidemic.

If gonorrhea goes untreated, it can lead to problems with pregnancy, infertility, and it can increase your chances of getting or giving HIV – the virus that causes AIDS.