‘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.

[h/t: WTVM]
[Image: WebMD]