Gonorrhea, also known as the clap, is a Sexually Transmitted Infection – or STI – that has been making people miserable for centuries. In the modern era, it was easy to get it under control with antibiotics, but the bacteria that cause gonorrhea are becoming more resistant to antibiotics.
Standard treatment failing
Doctors have become concerned that patients with gonorrhea are not responding as well as they used to when treated with antibiotics, and this resistant strain of the STI is being called super gonorrhea. It has now been reported that three travelers who had unprotected sex in Southeast Asia are now infected with super gonorrhea that is not responding to antibiotics. There are fears that the condition could be passed to others and numbers of people infected could escalate.
Resistance to antibiotics is a serious concern among medics who fear that a whole raft of conditions that were controlled with drugs may surge out of control. For more on this phenomenon, see this report from The Guardian.
Safe sex is the best way to avoid contracting STIs. However the World Health Organisation has warned that gonorrhea which cannot be cured is likely to increase as a result of more oral sex, and lower condom use as the fear of contracting HIV recedes. There were around 75,000 incidences of gonorrhea in 2016.
Gonorrhea is second only to Chlamydia, which is the commonest STI in Europe. Often exhibiting no symptoms, Chlamydia can have serious repercussions as it can cause sterility in women. Gonorrhea is particularly concerning if it is not treated or if in these cases the virus has become resistant to antibiotics. It can lead to problems with your internal organs and most concerningly your heart. This can lead to further issues and will result in cardiac treatment being needed. TQT Studies company richmondpharmacology.com/specialist-services/tqt carries out in-depth studies into various elements of cardiac health.
While the fear of transmitting HIV and Aids has lessened, STIs such as gonorrhea and Chlamydia are still serious if left untreated. With more cases of super gonorrhea, it appears that the drugs we have to combat STIs will be tested to the limit, which makes it even more important to have safe sexual encounters. Of course, accidents will happen, and when there is the possibility of exposure to an STI then it is imperative to be tested straight away.