“The latest evidence: gonorrhea is becoming resistant to all standard antibiotic treatment.” ~ The Scientific American, February 8th, 2012
Physicians from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Washington have warned in the latest New England Journal of Medicine that gonnorhea is increasing in resistance to all antibiotics to such a degree that is is fast approaching being ‘untreatable.’
In other words, gonorrhea is fast becoming so virulent and resistant that there may be no more types of antiobiotics that can effectively treat it.
This comes on the heels of another recent report that a particularly resistant form of e-coli has been found in the otherwise pristine waters of Antarctica. Emerging infectious bacteria and viruses are becoming steadily more resistant to current forms of antibiotics and other treatment methods threatening to spread uninhibited.
What does this mean for those who live a more permissive sexual lifestyle?
There are approximately 700,000 cases of gonorrhea in the United States, annually. The likelihood of running into an infected partner grows with each casual encounter. It is important to weigh the risks and take proper precautions.
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Methods To Prevent the Transmission of Gonorrhea
It may not be possible to eliminate all risks in becoming infected with gonorrhea other than abstinence, but there may be some steps that can be beneficial.
Here are a list of methods to help prevent transmission:
1. Abstinence From Casual Sex
Having one’s self and their partner tested can be 100% effective as long as both partners remain monogamous.
2. Condoms
Using latex condoms can offer some protection by reducing the risk, but transmission prevention is not guaranteed.
3. Complete Abstinence
The only surefire way to prevent infection is to abstain from sexual contact, or, as mentioned above, live in a completely monogamous relationship with a gonorrhea-free partner.
There are no chemical protectants that will prevent transmission.
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Gonorrhea Consequences
Left untreated, gonorrhea can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, sterility, arthritis, swelling, skin problems, infections of internal organs.
“There is much to do, and the threat of untreatable gonorrhea is emerging rapidly.”
“It is time to sound the alarm. During the past 3 years, the wily gonococcus has become less susceptible to our last line of antimicrobial defense, threatening our ability to cure gonorrhea and prevent severe sequelae…”
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Sources
Scientific American Magazine
blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/02/08/gonorrhea-untreatable-diseases/
New England Journal of Medicine
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1112456
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