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According to the WHO, the World Health Organization, cases of people with gonorrhea, an STD (sexually transmitted disease), increased in 2020. COVID-19 may be a direct cause of the increase.
The “super gonorrhea”
This infection, which is transmitted during sexual intercourse, remains a major public health problem. It reached 87 million new people aged 15 to 49 in 2016. It has a strong impact on the African region, but is becoming more and more frequent in the West and has spread globally this year. The problem is that a new version of the disease comes into play, more resistant to the antimicrobials of the bacteria responsible for gonorrhea. As a result, treatment options are dwindling. In addition, antibiotics, used to treat some patients with Covid-19, could fuel the new strain. To date, the number of new patients with this STI is only growing globally, according to data from hospital structures, especially where antibiotics are used to fight Covid-19. If gonorrhea is not treated, the risk of transmitting HIV (the virus responsible for AIDS) is multiplied by five. Also, it promotes the appearance of eye infection. The UK has the highest rate of gonorrhea among European countries, with a probability of 420,000 new cases each year by 2030.
Self-medication to be avoided
As the authors state in The Sun, “ Overuse of antibiotics in the community may fuel the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in gonorrhea “. In addition, other hospital services were disrupted because of the pandemic, where all professionals had to be mobilized. As a result, cases of gonorrhea were not diagnosed correctly and more and more people resorted to self-medication. Gold, “ Such a situation can fuel the emergence of resistance in gonorrhea, including gonorrhea superbug (super gonorrhea) “. Self-care is always discouraged. The disease, in both men and women, results in a yellowish discharge (from the urethra or vagina), pain or a feeling of heaviness in the pelvic area, inflammation of the anus, or even discharge rectum. Gonorrhea can also be manifested by swelling of the eyelids or eye irritation. One of the best ways to prevent this STI is to use a condom during sex.