There are multiple STDs that cannot be cured including HIV. However, it appears that several more common STDs can be added to the list of incurable STDs.
Why? It appears their strength has increased and is no longer curable with the various available prescriptions. This makes them extremely dangerous.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these STDs are “hidden epidemics” of huge economic and health importance for the U.S because they’re coming to the point where treatments will fail. The CDC said the three problematic, once curable STDs are chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis.
This STD will still respond to responding to antibiotics but is one of the more common infectious diseases people are diagnosed with. Planned Parenthood said close to three million Americans a year are infected with it.
Chlamydia is a bacterial infection that can be got through oral, vaginal or anal sex. There are no symptoms of the disease until future health problems arise. For the time being, the U.S. is not in danger of seeing antibiotic-resistant chlamydia bacteria, but other parts of the world are seeing the problem already.
This STD is treatable with antibiotic medication, but the symptoms don’t typically rear their ugly head until other more serious health problems develop. It’s for that reason that this STD is getting impossible to cure.
The problem stems from the bacteria, which is changing. The World Health Organization said the bacteria becomes resistant to the new class of antibiotics the agency introduces. On top of that, preventative long-term tests and vaccines are necessary to determine how effective the antibiotics are going to be.
The CDC said there are roughly 820,000 new infections each year.
Another possible incurable STD is syphilis – not in the U.S. but other parts of the world. It’s not near as common as the two mentioned above STDs but is still a problem. It’s spread through oral, vaginal and anal sex. Planned Parenthood said it can be spread through sexual skin-to-skin contact. Syphilis symptoms include sores on the genitals as well as the mouth and lips.
If syphilis is left untreated, it can lead to blindness, paralysis and brain damage. With the possibility of being soon incurable, this STD is a real problem.
Should syphilis and chlamydia become antibiotic-resistant like gonorrhea, it could become quite problematic. In the past, gonorrhea could be treated with many different antibiotics. However, that number has decreased to just one class of antibiotics – a sure sign that the STD has become resistant to treatment. It could quickly become a superbug because it’s a multi-resistant organism.
The WHO has come up with a new treatment recommendation for all three of the STDs. They were designed to come up with a standard global norm for STD treatment and prevention for healthcare professionals to follow.
The most important recommendation of all is to take immediate action. Any antibiotic resistance cases need to be watched carefully so that new treatment options can be developed. Preventative caution and immediate treatment are also important and listed in the guideline.
While the current methods to treat these STDS are still working, they have not undergone any changes. People infected with gonorrhea get a shot of ceftriaxone and take oral azithromycin. People will are infected with chlamydia get a course of antibiotics and syphilis suffers get a shot of Benzathine penicillin G, but only if it’s caught early.
To prevent the spread of infection, people are advised to take preventative measures such as using condoms, letting their partner know about the infection and to be routinely tested.
Written by Mark Riegel, MD
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