The World Health Organization annouced today that the sexual transmitted disease Gonorrhea is getting closer to becoming untreatable.
The STD is a bacterial infection that can cause extensive damage, including inflammation, infertility, and pregnancy complications.
According to Dr. Manjula Lusti-Narasimhan, a scientist in the agency’s department of sexually transmitted diseases, Gonorrhea is steadily becoming resistance to any medications since they first found an antibiotic for it.
She tells The Associated Press, “In a couple of years it will have become resistant to every treatment option we have available now.”
Strains of Gonorrhea have become resistant to the antibiotics called cephalosporins. The resistance first began circulating in Japan, but now has also been seen around Britain, Australia, France, and Norway.
Gonorrhea is responsible for 106 million infections annually, yet it’s estimated that 498 million new cases of curable sexually trasmitted diseases globally.
Make sure you to not only protect yourself, but to frequently get tested.