A man from the United Kingdom has received news that he never thought he would hear: he is now free of super gonorrhea.
A Lucky Break
Doctors who worked closely with the man with the 'world's worst' gonorrhea said he was fortunate to be cured of the sexual disease. The British man allegedly picked up the sexually transmitted disease when he was traveling in Southeast Asia. While he was visiting in that region, the man had sexual intercourse with an unidentified female partner.
When the man discovered that he had picked up the sexually transmitted disease, he tried to use a combination of antibiotics for gonorrhea, which failed. UK health officials stated that there was one final cure that helped the unidentified man. On Friday, April 20, Public Health England revealed in its latest Health Protection Report that the man was cured of the super sexually transmitted disease through ertapenem. This antibiotic has been medically proven to cure a variety of bacterial infections. The man was on ertapenem for three days until he was healed.
Concerns In The UK
While the unidentified man has been cured of the 'world's worst' super gonorrhea, there have been concerns among the UK health community. Health officials treated the unidentified man's British partner, who also did not have the superbug. They also revealed that the super strain of gonorrhea did not spread across the country.
However, the superbug's presence did alarm Public Health England, the European Centres for Disease Control, and the World Health Organization. Doctors believe that the super-gonorrhea virus would be a more significant challenge to cure in the future.
Dr. Olwen Williams, the president of the British Association of Sexual Health and HIV, advised people what to do if they had unsafe sex when they travel.
"We have to be aware when we travel that is potentially what we pick up. If you have unsafe sex anywhere in the world, get checked out when you come back before having sex with other partners," said Dr. Williams to BBC News.
Gonorrhea 101
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gonorrhea is a very common sexually transmitted disease that generally targets younger people between the ages of 15 and 24 years old. People typically get the sexually transmitted disease by having several forms of sex including anal, oral, and vaginal. Also, pregnant women could spread the virus to their unborn babies.
A Forewarning From WHO
The World Health Organization predicted last year that the bacteria that causes gonorrhea would become smarter. The organization also revealed that 78 million people worldwide could fall victim to the infection every year. The rise of sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea were due to several factors including oral sex, increased travel, insufficient or failed treatment of previous sexually transmitted diseases, and decreased condom use.
