A new strain of gonorrhoea is infecting people all over the world. And, it’s untreatable, warns the World Health Organization (WHO).
What is gonorrhoea?
Gonorrhoea is a sexually transmitted disease, affecting over 70 million people each year. The bacteria that cause the infection live in warm, moist areas of the body, including the urethra, vagina, anus, throat, and female reproductive tract.
Gonorrhoea is passed from person to person via unprotected oral, anal, or vaginal sex. People with more than one sexual partner or who don’t use condoms have a high risk of gonorrhoea. The infection can also spread from mother to child during birth.
Left untreated, someone who has gonorrhoea has a much higher risk for other STDs, including, HIV/AIDS. Other complications include burning during urination, discharge, inflammation, and fertility problems in women.
The new, super-gonorrhoea
Antibiotic resistance is making gonorrhoea much harder, and sometimes impossible, to treat and cure.
According to Dr Teodora Wi, a Medical Officer at WHO, “The bacteria that cause gonorrhoea are particularly smart. Every time we use a new class of antibiotics to treat the infection, the bacteria evolve to resist them,”
Ceftriaxone and Azithromycin, which are the current antibiotics used to treat gonorrhoea, are becoming increasingly ineffective against the new strain.
The new antibiotic-resistant strain is the result of inadequate or failed treatment of previous gonorrhoea infections, usually in the throat. Symptoms of gonorrhoea in the throat look very similar to a different bacterial infection, strep throat. Doctors often prescribe antibiotics to treat what they believe to be a strep throat infection. These antibiotics mix with the gonorrhoea bacteria, and instead of killing them, create stronger, antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea.
Not using condoms and low infection detection rates have also contributed to the spread of this antibiotic-resistant strain.
How to protect yourself
Always use condoms, even during oral sex. Limit your number of sexual partners, and go for regular STD screenings – even if you have no symptoms. It’s possible to be infected with gonorrhoea and have no symptoms at all.
If your partner shows any signs of a possible infection, say no to sexual contact. Ask them to be tested to rule out any possible infection that can be passed on to you.
Your best defence against gonorrhoea or any other STD? Abstinence!
References
- http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/untreatable-super-gonorrhea-rise-spread-oral-sex-article-1.3309147
- http://www.healthline.com/health/gonorrhea#overview1
- http://www.healthline.com/health-news/antibiotic-resistant-gonorrhea#2
- http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/gonorrhea-resistance-1.4193646
- http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2017/Antibiotic-resistant-gonorrhoea/en/