Rise of 'Super-Gonorrhea': Antibiotic overuse causing STDs to become untreatable while venereal diseases spread more rapidly in modern decadent society

Wednesday, January 06, 2016 by: Daniel Barker
Tags: super gonorrhea, antibiotic resistance, hookup apps

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(NaturalNews) An untreatable "super-gonorrhea" epidemic is threatening to become widespread globally due to overuse of antibiotics and an increase in casual sex encounters encouraged by so-called "hookup apps" such as Tinder.

Health officials in Great Britain discovered the strain in March of 2015 and have since confirmed at least 16 cases of the antibiotic-resistant strain of the disease, all of them involving heterosexuals.

Gonorrhea is the second most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) after chlamydia and is often treated with ciprofloxacin, even though the use of that particular antibiotic has not been recommended since 2005.

The organization Public Health England (PHE) released a study in which researchers found that in 2007, 42 percent of gonorrhea prescriptions were for ciprofloxacin, and in 2011, one out of five doctors were still prescribing the outdated antibiotic.

Dr. Andrew Lee, a communicable disease control consultant for PHE, said:

Investigations are ongoing into a number of cases of antimicrobial resistant gonorrhoea, these are seen from time to time around the country and those affected have been effectively treated with alternative antibiotics. We know that the bacterium that cause gonorrhoea can mutate and develop new resistance, so we cannot afford to be complacent.

Individuals can significantly reduce their risk of any STI by using condoms with all new and casual partners and getting tested regularly. Public Health England will continue to monitor, and act on, the spread of antimicrobial resistance and potential gonorrhoea treatment failures, to make sure they are identified and managed promptly.

The new super strain of the disease is resistant to the first-line antibiotic azithromycin and could potentially become untreatable, according to the researchers.

Gonorrhea is a serious illness, and although some of those who are infected show no symptoms, the disease can cause long-term damage, including infertility and pelvic inflammation in women, and can blind newborn children whose mothers are infected.

The potential spread of an untreatable strain beyond England's borders is a very real possibility.

From CNBC:

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have long proved a powerful and deadly challenge for health-care providers and their patients, beyond the U.K., especially as cases of STIs are on the rise.

In the U.S., President Barack Obama last year issued an executive order on combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Indeed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its STD treatment guidelines in response to the "urgent public health threat" of the gonorrhea super strain.

"Hookup apps" spreading more STDs

The spread of the gonorrhea super strain could be exacerbated by the use of apps like Tinder, which encourage people to engage in "casual and often anonymous sex" by making it easy to find partners online, according to a report by the Rhode Island Department of Health.

Health officials in Rhode Island are reporting a significant increase in STDs in recent years, and they believe Tinder, Grinder (a hookup app for gay men) and other similar apps or social media platforms are partly to blame.

From CNN:

Between 2013 and 2014 [in Rhode Island], cases of syphilis grew by 79%. HIV infections were up 33% and gonorrhea cases increased by 30%. STD cases for young adults are growing at a faster rate than the rest of the population.

Rhode Island says the recent uptick in STD cases follows a national trend. The state's health department blamed "high-risk behaviors that have become more common in recent years," including "using social media to arrange casual and often anonymous sexual encounters."

As disturbing as these trends may be, there are still effective methods for avoiding ever becoming infected by a super strain STD – namely through adhering to such "old-fashioned" practices as monogamy and celibacy.

If you simply cannot resist having sex with multiple partners, do yourself and the rest of the populace a favor by never engaging in unprotected sex.

Sources:

CNBC.com

TheGuardian.com

Money.CNN.com