Tag Archives: Gonorrhea

Sex Superbug Hits Hawaii

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‘Sex Superbug’ Found In Hawaii, Is Immune To Antibiotics [source]

‘Sex superbug’ may sound like a cheesy teen sex comedy from the late 90s, but it’s no laughing matter. It’s in fact a drug-resistant strain of the STD gonorrhea that has people around the country worried.

It was reported last week that a drug-resistant strain of gonorrhea was found in two people in Hawaii. The finding led people to assume that it was the same ‘sex superbug’ that has been found to be immune to all forms of antibiotics. Fortunately, the Hawaiian Health Department says the case of gonorrhea it found is different from the ‘sex superbug’ strain found elsewhere.

Despite it being a different strain, the emerge of a gonorrhea that’s immune to medication should have people concerned. For years, the sexually transmitted disease was on the decline thanks to antibiotics and medication. The number of infections may rise, however, as the disease has evolved immunities to the medication used to treat it.

Peter Whiticir of the State Department of Health’s STD/AIDs Prevention Control branch confirmed that the the Hawaiian ‘sex superbug’ is, in fact, not the dreaded strain that’s completely immune to all drugs, but he does say that the current news helps remind people that these diseases are evolving.

“There is no multi-drug super resistant superbug yet in Hawaii or the United States. We don’t have the superbug in Hawaii that I repeat again, but I think it does raise people’s consciousness that gonorrhea is out there, there are new strains that are developing and evolving and we need to be aware of that and protect ourselves.”

Even if its not the dreaded ‘sex superbug,’ gonorrhea can still evolve to a point where it becomes one. As such, health officials fear that such a form of gonorrhea could be worse than AIDs. The Center for Disease Control has even asked Congress for $50 million in funding to research new treatment for gonorrhea infections just in case things go South.

Even if you have no intention of catching gonorrhea, it’s always advisable to use safe sex. You should also never be afraid to discuss STDs with any potential partner.

 

Is there a new sex superbug?

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Is there a new sex superbug?  No, there isn’t.  It’s been going around in the UK for awhile now and it’s making its way to the US in force.  The rumor is that it has even started to taint our own industry in large part because of companies like LA Direct Models who bring over girls from the UK illegally (without proper work permits) and Bluebird Films who just a few years ago brought over several girls for their production of BATFXXX: Dark Night Parody, from the UK and they performed with US based talent and those UK girls were not tested … one of those girls it turned out had gonorrhea.  The ensuring exposure was then covered up and almost nobody outside of a group of industry insiders heard of it.

It is this kind of risky and irresponsible behavior that is making this problem worse.

A year ago when this problem started out, I mean the sex superbug, everyone blew it off.  They called it a problem in Europe, why would we care about them?  Because people … DUH!  They do come to the US to work and now our girls are at risk!

 

Sex Superbug Could Be ‘Worse Than AIDS’ [source]

An antibiotic-resistant strain of gonorrhea—now considered a superbug—has some analysts saying that the bacteria’s effects could match those of AIDS.

“This might be a lot worse than AIDS in the short run because the bacteria is more aggressive and will affect more people quickly,” said Alan Christianson, a doctor of naturopathic medicine.

Even though nearly 30 million people have died from AIDS related causes worldwide, Chrisitanson believes the immediate effect of the gonorrhea strain is more direct.

“Getting gonorrhea from this strain might put someone into septic shock and death in a matter of days,” Christianson said. “This is very dangerous.”

“It’s an emergency situation,” said William Smith, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors. “As time moves on, it’s getting more hazardous.”

This gonorrhea strain, HO41, was discovered in Japan two years ago in a 31-year-old female sex worker who had been screened in 2009. The bacteria has since been found in Hawaii, California and Norway.

Because it resists current antibiotic treatment, the strain has been placed in the superbug category with other resistant bacteria, such as MRSA and CRE. These superbugs kill about half the people they attack, and nearly one in 20 hospital patients become infected with one, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Though no deaths from HO41 have been reported, efforts to combat it must continue, Smith said.

“We have to keep beating the drum on this,” he said. “The potential for disaster is great.”

According to the CDC, about 20 million a year contract a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and result in about $16 billion in medical costs. More than 800,000 of STD cases reported are gonorrhea infections, with most occurring in people between the ages of 15 and 24.

Gonorrhea is transmitted through unprotected sexual contact. Untreated, the disease can cause a number of health complications in women, including infertility. In men, the disease can be very painful and lead to sterility. It can also trigger other life-threatening illnesses, including heart infections.

Gonorrhea can be hard to detect. It often shows no symptoms in about half of women and in about 5 percent of men. Gonorrhea infection rates were at historic lows until two years ago, according to the CDC.

“That’s what’s kind of scary about this,” Smith said. “We are at lows in terms of infections, but this strain is a very tricky bug and we don’t have anything medically to fight it right now.”

Since 1998, the Food and Drug Administration has approved only four new antibiotics of any kind, according to the Infectious Disease Society of America. The last approval was in 2010. Only seven antibiotics are in an advanced stage of development—still years away from approval and use.

Recognizing the problem, Congress passed a law last year referred to as the Gain Act (Generating Antibiotics Incentives Now) to help speed antibiotic development.

But Smith said more needs to be done. In a briefing on Capitol Hill last week, he urged Congress to target nearly $54 million in immediate funding to help find an antibiotic for HO41 and to conduct an education and public awareness campaign.

“I’m hopeful we’ll get the additional funds, but I can’t say for sure,” Smith said. “What I do know is we don’t have the resources to fight this as it stands now.”

Avoiding the disease completely is the best course, experts said.

“People need to practice safe sex, like always,” Christianson said. “Anyone beginning a new relationship should get tested along with their partner. The way gonorrhea works, not everyone knows they have it. And with this new strain it’s even more important than ever to find out. ”

All superbugs must be dealt with before it’s too late, he said.

 

“This is a disaster just waiting to happen,” Christianson said. “It’s time to do something about it before it explodes. “These superbugs, including the gonorrhea strain, are a health threat. We need to move now before it gets out of hand.”

Drug-Resistant Gonorrhea Spreading Big in the UK

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Many news sources are giving warning of a new super strain on Gonorrhea that is Drug-Resistant.  While right now it is mostly isolated to Europe including the UK, you want to be careful because a lot of UK girls come to the US for work, especially through LA Direct Models.

So be careful before working with any performers from England or anyone who has recently visited any part of Europe or Australia

Not trying to call out anyone but I would also most especially avoid those group of girls from the UK who worked with a now retired former studio head / tax dodging “expert” / studio owner / notorious dodger of bills ….  because if the rumors are true, they all sleep around with him a lot and none of them use condoms.  While that may be fine for most, some of those girls he sleeps with escort and don’t use condoms.  So that is some very risky behavior.  Rumor is when they came over to the US as a group a year or two ago to shoot a big budget movie, not all of them got tested and 10 performers got exposed because in fact one of them had gonorrhea.  Just something to keep in mind before you agree to do any scenes with that company. 

Drug-Resistant Gonorrhea Spreading Worldwide, WHO Warns [source]

Officials at the World Health Organization (WHO) are urging governments and doctors to increase surveillance of potentially untreatable strains of drug-resistant gonorrhea and are calling for more vigilance on the proper treatment of the disease with antibiotics.

The widely spreading “superbug” strains of the sexually transmitted infection are resistant to cephalosporin antibiotics, normally the last line of defense against gonorrhea. Last year scientists reported finding a strain of gonorrhea in Japan in 2008 that was resistant to all recommended antibiotics; at the time, the researchers warned that it could turn the disease into a serious global health issue.

Now, WHO reports that drug-resistant strains are popping up in many more countries, including Australia, France, Norway, Sweden and the U.K. Unless doctors catch and treat cases earlier, millions of people may run out of treatment options.

“This organism has basically been developing resistance against every medication we’ve thrown at it,” Dr. Manjula Lusti-Narasimhan, a scientist in the WHO’s department of sexually transmitted diseases, told the Associated Press. ”In a couple of years it will have become resistant to every treatment option we have available now.”

After chlamydia, gonorrhea is the most commonly sexually transmitted disease in the world, infecting more than 106 million people each year. In the U.S. alone, more than 700,000 people are estimated to become infected with gonorrhea each year, and less than half of these cases are reported, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2010, 309,341 cases of gonorrhea were reported to the CDC.

In an official WHO statement, Lusti-Narasimhan warned that without adequate surveillance, the true extent of the spread of drug-resistant gonorrhea remains unknown, and without new research into new antimicrobial agents, there could soon be no effective treatment left for those infected.

Untreated, the bacterial infection can cause:

  • infection of the urethra, cervix and rectum
  • infertility in both men and women
  • a significantly increased risk of HIV infection and transmission
  • ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, stillbirth and premature birth
  • severe eye infections that can lead to blindness, which occur in 30% to 50% of babies born to women with untreated gonorrhoea

Gonorrhea has already developed resistance to most common antibiotic treatments such as penicillin, tetracyclines and quinolones, driven by the improper or overuse of these medications. Over-the-counter availability of low-potency antibiotics in some Asian countries may also help explain why resistance is increasing.

Gonorrhea bacteria are also remarkably adaptable, quickly mutating and spreading its ability to resist antibiotics. Gonorrhea also tends to retain genetic resistance to previous antibiotics even after they are discontinued, the WHO says.

To prevent spread, better sex education is needed, along with increased monitoring and research into new treatments. Using condoms during sex is one of the most effective ways ti prevent infection. ”We’re not going to be able to get rid of it completely,” Lusti-Narasimhan told the AP. “But we can limit the spread.”