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https://theconversation.com/gonorrhea-became-more-drug-resistant-while-attention-was-on-covid-19-a-molecular-biologist-explains-the-sexually-transmitted-superbug-187909>
"COVID-19 has rightfully dominated infectious disease news since 2020. However,
that doesn’t mean other infectious diseases took a break. In fact, U.S. rates
of infection by gonorrhea have risen during the pandemic.
Unlike COVID-19, which is a new virus, gonorrhea is an ancient disease. The
first known reports of gonorrhea date from China in 2600 BC, and the disease
has plagued humans ever since. Gonorrhea has long been one of the most commonly
reported bacterial infections in the U.S.. It is caused by the bacterium
Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which can infect mucous membranes in the genitals,
rectum, throat and eyes.
Gonorrhea is typically transmitted by sexual contact. It is sometimes referred
to as “the clap.”
Prior to the pandemic, there were around 1.6 million new gonorrhea infections
each year. Over 50% of those cases involved strains of gonorrhea that had
become unresponsive to treatment with at least one antibiotic.
In 2020, gonorrhea infections initially went down 30%, most likely due to
pandemic lockdowns and social distancing. However, by the end of 2020 – the
last year for which data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is
available – reported infections were up 10% from 2019.
It is unclear why infections went up even though some social distancing
measures were still in place. But the CDC notes that reduced access to health
care may have led to longer infections and more opportunity to spread the
disease, and sexual activity may have increased when initial shelter-in-place
orders were lifted.
As a molecular biologist, I have been studying bacteria and working to develop
new antibiotics to treat drug-resistant infections for 20 years. Over that
time, I’ve seen the problem of antibiotic resistance take on new urgency.
Gonorrhea, in particular, is a major public health concern, but there are
concrete steps that people can take to prevent it from getting worse, and new
antibiotics and vaccines may improve care in the future."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
