The serious STI you’ve never heard of

Mycoplasma genitalium (Mgen) was first discovered in 1980. This is a bacterium which impacts one’s reproductive system and is normally spread via sexual contact. This salient Std in men, it hits the urethritis, triggering irritating sensations. In the case of women, it impacts the cervicitis and can possibly cause infertility. Whereas data may be limited with respect to how common this STD is, one study indicated that about 2,932 young men and women are battling the disease. The only sure way to know whether you have the infection is to take an STD Test.

Signs and symptoms

The following features may be observed in such a patient infected with Mgen

  • Pain while speaking
  • Pelvic inflammation and cervical inflammation in females
  • Swelling of urethra in males
  • Sterility in patients if untreated for long

Caution should be taken since patients may harbor this bacteria and present with no symptoms. In this scenario, the risk of its transmission is very high since the false healthy individuals are unaware of their conditions.

According to the British Association for Sexual Health, their fear is that Mgen would become a superbug (bacteria’s resistant to antibiotic) and prevalent in the coming years. They report too that Mgen respond to treatment with Azithromycin, which is the most antibiotic largely used over the years, but mostly are resistant to certain antibiotics like Moxifoxacin that is in use in Asia.

Effects yet to get worse

The CDC gives hopes that the effects by these bacteria are yet to deteriorate as it is with the uncommon Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacterium that causes gonorrhea disease. However, the public health officials give recommendations that precautions be done to prevent this bacterium from developing immunity against antibiotics by spacing out the doses of azithromycin to reach the whole Mgen population. The whole dose drug should be administered and the whole duration should be achieved lest resilient bugs are left in the system. This will result since the antibiotic does not reach its therapeutic level. Rather this bacterium assumes latency.

With the ability of Mgen to mutate into hard- to -treat forms to become resistant to antibiotic treatment, people are encouraged to prevent their infection by using condoms during sexual intercourse and thus reduce the chances of transmission. This will also limit the chances of infection by the Neisseria gonorhoeae that salient std in its super rise in the US which is also a sexually transmitted disease.