YIKES

Health Officials Warn New STD Could Be Next Superbug

Mycoplasma genitalium, or MG, is often symptomless. It can also leave its patients infertile if left untreated.

British health officials are warning that an emerging sexually transmitted disease is poised to be a superbug. The British Association of Sexual Health and HIV warns that Mycoplasma genitalium, or MG, has shown signs in patients of not responding to a traditional antibiotic used to treat patients, macrolides. About 40 percent of the British population is resistant to macrolides. MG leads to inflammation: in men, the urethra can be affected, making it painful to urinate; in women, the uterus and Fallopian tubes can painfully swell, spark a fever, induce bleeding, and potentially lead to infertility. What makes it worse is that MG is often symptomless. One type of macrolide antibiotic, azithromycin, continues to work, though researchers aren’t sure whether there’s a timeline to its effectiveness in the general population. “It's about time the public learned about Mycoplasma genitalium,” Peter Greenhouse, a sexual consultant in Bristol, told the BBC. “It’s yet another good reason to pack the condoms for the summer holidays—and actually use them.”