Sex Superbug Could Be 'Worse Than AIDS'

[GreenStormCloud]

Source: CNBC

An antibiotic-resistant strain of gonorrhea—now considered a superbug—has some analysts saying that the bacteria's effects could match those of AIDS.

"This might be a lot worse than AIDS in the short run because the bacteria is more aggressive and will affect more people quickly," said Alan Christianson, a doctor of naturopathic medicine.


"Getting gonorrhea from this strain might put someone into septic shock and death in a matter of days," Christianson said. "This is very dangerous."

SNIP

This gonorrhea strain, HO41, was discovered in Japan two years ago in a 31-year-old female sex worker who had been screened in 2009. The bacteria has since been found in Hawaii, California and Norway.

Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100685883

---

Evolution at work. More diseases that we thought we had conquered are back, and meaner than ever. This version of gonorrhea is going to spread like wildfire.

[Ian David]

1. Time to start putting more money into research on bacteriophages. n/t

[GreenStormCloud]

4. Yes, study them more, but I am not long-term optimistic.

If we develop widespread use of bacteriophages that will put strong evolutionary pressure on the bacteria to evolve defense against them. We will be back where we started from.

[kelliekat44]

75. Norway?!!! nt

[Myrina]

2. Calling Stephen King and Cap'n Tripps ...

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

36. Baby can you dig your man, he's a righteous man...

[Cirque du So-What]

3. 'septic shock and death in a matter of days'

may seem merciful in comparison to the rest of your life in constant pain, which would be the result of a chronic infection with this organism.

[Poll_Blind]

5. In the grand scheme of things, any superbug that kills in a matter of days is...

...much better than one that kills in a matter of weeks or months- or years.

Looking to the parasite/host relationship, the quicker the host is killed off, the worse for the parasite.

I'm grateful such a thing is transmitted through sexual contact and not, for instance, through sneezing.

PB

[AtheistCrusader]

11. Seriously. Some things are TOO successful and become victims of their own success.

Sounds like this bacteria will be exactly that once word gets around..

[SheilaT]

6. A female sex worker who had been screened in 2009.

So how often do they screen the sex workers?

[GreenStormCloud]

8. That's when she was found with it.

It has since spread. Many countries have no screening at all. The U.S. has screening only in Nevada (In some counties) because everywhere else prostitution is illegal.

[In_The_Wind]

7. Just what mankind needs, more killer easily transmittable bacteria.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

9. Funny how every time there's a little advance in sexual freedom the media says, "This'll kill ya."

[Nye Bevan]

34. Plenty of sexual freedom in the 70s, and nothing that would kill you.

That really was the golden age. Except for fashion. And kitchens.

[Carolina]

35. yes, avocado green and harvest

gold appliances, bell bottoms, micro minis, platforms... ah the good ole days.

[Ms. Toad]

74. I still have one harvest gold appliance

And I plead the 5th on elephant bells and micro minis...little pitchers have big ears, and they occasionally post on DU. Just sayin'

[Spitfire of ATJ]

41. It was the golden age of macrame too....

Every home had ceiling hooks.

[msongs]

10. maybe we should quit giving antibiotics to the cow industry nt

[cliffordu]

19. Yep.

[LanternWaste]

23. Or simply posses a predicated trust for those with whom we are intimate with.

Or simply posses a predicated trust for those with whom we are intimate with.

[hrmjustin]

12. Thanks for the info!

[Sunlei]

13. gonorrhea skin lesions out of control. protect yourself people.

[flamingdem]

14. meh. sex is overrated

[Throckmorton]

32. Agreed.

But then again I am old.

[DCKit]

66. It's peaceful to live a life that's not dictated by our little friend.

My last ten years have been the best.

[flamingdem]

67. It's true. The hormones are little dictators

and when they go on vacation things get peaceful! No mas rollercoasters

[Blue_Tires]

61. You're doing it wrong

[flamingdem]

71. give us some direction kemosabe

[SammyWinstonJack]

70. Indeed it is. nt

[madokie]

15. We were hearing shit like this all the way back to when I was in Vietnam

thats was 40 some odd years ago.

[alfredo]

16. I remember that strain. Nasty stuff.

[jaysunb]

48. Yup...it was supposed to be the "clap that killed"

Funny thing though, it went away as soon as we left, and from what I can tell, there has been no "die off" from it in Nam since either.

[madokie]

49. Funny how that works

Too much bullshit too little time

[alp227]

52. Gives a whole new meaning to "dirty fxxking hippies" and "free love"? n/t

[madokie]

54. I'm glad I partaked as much as I did when I was a young free loving hippie

cause later in life, now, my part doesn't cooperate at it used too
Not much lead left in my pencil now.

[Swede Atlanta]

17. My empathy to those that may become infected with this bacteria.....

but it underscores the fact that what was told to us about the HIV virus applies universally.....

(1) Practice safe sex
(2) Know your partner's sexual and medical history

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. "could kill in a matter of days"; "has never killed anyone"

This is not an article that tells a comprehensible story. What is going to make this bacteria, which has been around for at least 2 years, start killing people in a matter of days?

[cliffordu]

20. It's waiting for the cello music to become sufficiently creepy before striking

[Yo_Mama]

37. Coinfections, other lesions, loss of treatment options and limited resistance (immune suppressed)

The recommended treatment options for gonorrhea in the US have already dropped since 2010, and now with doxycycline in short supply the recommended treatment is going to be 250 mg of ceftriaxone intramuscularly plus 1 gram azithromycin orally.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6131a3.htm?s_cid=mm6131a3_w

Plus retesting in a week, plus testing and treatment of sexual contacts.

You have to expect that in 2 to 4 years you are going to start seeing resistance against these drugs. Fluoroquinolone and cephalosporin resistance has emerged in the US in the last decade.

Any bacteria that gets into your blood can kill you. Suppose you are one of the people with GERD, and you get gonorrhea of the throat. If you have open lesions in the esophagus, the bacteria can easily infect through that route.

Right now the shortage of doxycycline and the outright inability to get tetracycline has left syphilis treatment for penicillin-resistant treatments in a very problematic arena:
http://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment/doxycyclineShortage.htm

Safe sex is looking better and better!!

[KamaAina]

72. A shortage of critical antibiotics?

What's the matter, Big Pharma not raking in a big enough profit margin on them (as with vaccines)?

[GreenStormCloud]

56. No conflict between the two.

"Could kill in a matter of days" would refer to untreated. "Has never killed anyone" is because there is still treatment available, but it is limited and requires hospitalization. Back when I was young the treatment of clap was a few pills, or maybe a shot. Now that doesn't work on this strain.

[muriel_volestrangler]

59. Notice the "could kill in days" comes from a naturopath, ie quack

You are assuming that "there is still treatment available, but it is limited and requires hospitalization". The article doesn't tell us that. It just says the strain is resistant to antibiotics. It doesn't say there's any treatment for it at all.

It would help if it wasn't a quack telling us it could kill in days, because they we could assume they weren't talking rubbish. Now, it can kill, if it does get into the blood:

Untreated gonorrhea causes serious, painful and costly medical conditions in both men and women. In
women, gonorrhea can spread into the uterus or fallopian tubes and cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).
PID is a leading cause of infertility and can increase the risk of ectopic pregnancy. In men, gonorrhea may
be complicated by epididymitis, which may also lead to infertility. If left untreated, gonorrhea can also
spread to the blood and cause disseminated gonococcal infection—which can be life threatening, infecting
the joints, the skin, the heart valves and even the brain.

http://www.ncsddc.org/sites/default/files/docs/final_gonorrhea_resistance_emergency_funding_request_4.24.pdf

but it's more useful to hear that from a real doctor, rather than as a quote from a naturopathic quack.

Principles
The Healing Power of Nature (Vis Medicatrix Naturae): Naturopathic medicine recognizes an inherent self-healing process in the person which is ordered and intelligent. Naturopathic physicians act to identify and remove obstacles to healing and recovery, and to facilitate and augment this inherent self-healing process.

http://naturopathic.org/content.asp?contentid=59

Those really aren't the kind of people to talk to about drug-resistant bacteria. They'll encourage the patient "to pursue their personal spiritual development" instead.

[GreenStormCloud]

62. OK. I didn't notice that it was a "naturopath"...

...nor did I know what one was. I just saw the word and assumed it was some sort of specialist.

[winter is coming]

73. And if it kills that quickly, won't that limit the spread of the disease? n/t

[geek tragedy]

21. Unprotected sex with people with questionable sexual histories

remains a really bad idea.

[another_liberal]

22. Abstinence Only!

The powerful Christian Right will insist on no new STD funding of any kind, except for lavish spending on their pet "Abstinence Only" projects (which have been proven to be ineffective at preventing the spread of disease). The funding so clearly needed to fight this new gonorrhea will not be forthcoming unless and until liberals take back the House of Representatives.

[GreenStormCloud]

24. Gonorrhea isn't the only disease that has become antibiotic resistant.

TB is back, staph is resistant, E. Coli is becoming a problem, Enterococcus, Staphylococcus, Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas and Enterobacter are drug resistant.

[another_liberal]

25. Too true.

But most other such diseases can't be prevented by the use of something as cheap and reliable as a rubber. They should be free and available everywhere.

[Yo_Mama]

38. Yep.

Spending some money on an education campaign to that effect would really pay off.

Yeah, it should be common sense, but the young have very strong hormones and very little common sense.

[GreenStormCloud]

40. They are cheap and widely available.

Just abut all convenience stores carry them, and the price is fairly low. The problem is that men hate them.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

26. Well, it now looks like being old and unpopular has an up side.

[Politicalboi]

27. LOL!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

28. Yup. At least I'm not going to get the Clap of Death.

[agracie]

53. Not to be confused with "the clapper" - as seen on TV ...

[Skittles]

30. YOU'RE A PEACH, TVO!!!

[shanti]

31. you got that right!

[OneGrassRoot]

58. Ha! LOL n/t

[Little Star]

64. lol

[olddad56]

29. Okay corporate america, lest get to work figuring out how to make a fortune on this.

[corkhead]

33. as long as my hand doesn't get it first, I'm safe

[Junkpet]

39. If it's bacteria...

...there's no way it's worse than AIDs. Scare tactics is all it is.

[Psephos]

42. Dying in a couple of days from septicemia is not worse than AIDs? n/t

[uriel1972]

44. Depends how you want to die I suppose...

But really just because it's bacteria doesn't make it any better or worse than if it was a virus since the antibacterial methods are failing on this one.

[Psephos]

46. AIDS isn't the killer it used to be.

Ask Magic Johnson.

[Beacool]

43. As of now, I'm taking a vow of celibacy.

[uriel1972]

45. I didn't have to take a vow /sigh... nt

[Beacool]

47. Aaahhhhh...........

[agracie]

55. Vanna, I'd like to buy a vowel... Heh heh

[XVI_Eyes]

50. Never thought I'd say this but...

Thank God I'm married!

[WheelWalker]

51. Thank you Goddess that I am old.

[tabasco]

57. doctor of naturopathic medicine

WTF is that?

[muriel_volestrangler]

60. A quack - see #59 (nt)

[Frank Cannon]

63. If it kills within days, then it's self-limiting.

The problem with HIV was that you could walk around a long time without any symptoms, transmitting it all the while.

[LisaL]

76. Might kill within days.

[GreenStormCloud]

65. My apologies to all. I didn't notice the so-called doctor was a naturopath.

I simply saw the article was by CNBC. I had never heard of a naturopath and when I saw the word I just assumed it was by some sort of specialist.

Still, antibiotic resistant bacteria are becoming a major problem.

[FarCenter]

68. From 2 years ago "Kyoto hooker’s nasty case of clap nothing to applaud "

Uh oh. It has just been learned that a female sex worker in Kyoto came down with a nasty new strain of a social disease that appears resistant to conventional treatment.

Nikkan Gendai (July 22) reports that a 31-year-old hooker was found to be harboring the nasty bug, a strain of gonorrhea called HO41, in January 2009.

The woman had sought treatment after noticing a burning sensation in her urethra during urination. She had also begun excreting pus.
...
It is believed the Kyoto sex worker contracted HO41 while receiving oral sex from a customer.

...

While gonorrhea is unlikely to be transmitted by kissing, it can be transmitted by unsafe sex, including fellatio and cunilingus.

Without use of a condom, the chances of catching something unpleasant are said to be about 30 percent. Forewarned is forearmed, the tabloid cautions its readers.

http://www.tokyoreporter.com/2011/07/22/kyoto-hookers-nasty-case-of-clap-nothing-to-applaud/

[GreenStormCloud]

69. Same story, different source, different doctor.

LONDON (Reuters)

http://www.qatarliving.com/node/1953518