There is a new sexually
transmitted superbug that experts say may be more deadly that AIDS.
According to a CNBC
report, an antibiotic-resistant strain of gonorrhea is more aggressive than the
HIV virus, which means the potential to infect the public will be greater.
Like most STDs, gonorrhea
is usually transmitted through unprotected sexual contact and if left
untreated, can cause severe medical complications, such as infertility in
women, debilitating pain, sterility in men and life threatening heart
infections.
Alan Christianson, a
doctor of naturopathic medicine, thinks this new strain has the power to rack
up more fatalities than AIDS. To date, more than the 30 million people have
already died worldwide from AIDS-related complications.
“Getting gonorrhea from
this strain might put someone into septic shock and death in a matter of days,”
said Christianson. “This is very dangerous.”
William Smith, executive
director of the National Coalition of STD Directors, echoed that sentiment.
“It’s an emergency situation. As time moves on, it’s getting more hazardous,”
said Smith.
According to the Centers
for Disease Control, though no cases of the superbug officially called H041
were found in the US, steps must be taken to deal with the potential risks.
Gonorrhea can go
undetected in some affected by the disease, showing no outward symptoms in
about half of women and in 5 percent of men, which adds another level of
difficulty in getting ahead of it.
This strain of STD which
is resistant to antibiotic, reportedly kills half of those exposed and infects
one in 20 hospital patients—which raises the threat of an outbreak to emergency
levels.
Then there is the high
cost of combating sexually transmitted diseases in general. The CDC’s tally to
treat 20 million cases annually is approximately $16 billion. Of that 20
million STD cases, a reported 800,000 between the ages of 15 to 24, are
infected with gonorrhea.
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