A new deadly “sex superbug” has been found in two individuals in Hawaii, after surfacing in Japan in 2011. H041, a form of gonorrhea that is resistant to all antibiotics presently available, is considered as deadly as AIDS, and is much faster at killing people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants upward of $50 million from Congress to find an antibiotic that will kill the virus, which has also been found in California and Norway.
Alan Christianson, a doctor of naturopathic medicine, said:
This might be a lot worse than AIDS in the short run because the bacteria is more aggressive and will affect more people quickly. Getting gonorrhea from this strain might put someone into septic shock and death in a matter of days. This is very dangerous. People need to practice safe sex, like always. Anyone beginning a new relationship should get tested along with their partner. The way gonorrhea works, not everyone knows they have it. And with this new strain it’s even more important than ever to find out.
Although gonorrhea was largely controlled in recent years, there has been a recent rise in its number of cases; Utah had 74% more cases in 2012, Minnesota rose 35%. The CDC stated, “During 2010-2011, 61% (31/51) of states, plus the District of Columbia, reported an increase in gonorrhea rates.”
The most recent antibiotic used to treat gonorrhea, cephalosporin, has now become ineffective around the world.
Professor Cathy Ison, who runs the National Reference Laboratory for Gonorrhoea in the U.K., said, “There is a possibility that if we don’t do something then it could become untreatable by 2015.”
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