There are already many sexually transmitted diseases to be concerned with, and now, there is one more to be worried about.
Mycoplasma genitalium, which health officials worry could become the net superbug if the British Sexual Health Organization’s guidelines are not stringently followed.
Awareness about this bug is the biggest issue to date.
MG is found in one percent of the UK population. A 2007 study also found one percent of young U.S. adults also have the disease. According to Melbourne’s Royal Women’s Hospital Centre for Infectious Diseases, 400,000 Australians may have MG.
The bacteria that causes MG may sound rare, but the rate of infection is even higher than the commonly known STD gonorrhea.
MG symptoms are so vague that most people have no clue they have the disease. Some of the symptoms it can cause include pelvic pain, painful urination, bleeding, discharge or vaginal irritation. There is not one symptom that will lead a health provider to say that a patient has MG over any other sexual diseases such as chlamydia.
If MG is not treated right away, it can lead to PID (pelvic inflammatory disease), which can cause infertility.
It wasn’t until recently that a commercial test was available for MG. According to the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, MG is a sly disease that tends to be mistaken for another disease and is not treated properly. When this happens, it could become antibiotic-resistant.
Therefore, until providers are aware of the MG bacteria and start testing for it, more people could catch it, and it could become difficult to treat.
The best thing a person can do is be aware of the MG bacteria. If you are suffering from any MG-related symptoms, be sure to talk to your doctor about it and ask them to do an MG test to rule out the possibility.
Written by Mark Riegel, MD
Here’s what we've been up to recently.
Help stop the spread of STDs by knowing your status. Get tested today!
