Treating COVID-19 Is Actually Leading to a Rise in ... SUPER GONORRHEA?!
I know the world isn't going to magically get markedly better when the calendar flips to 2021, but it's a virtually impossible argument to make that it could be any worse. In today's edition of 2020 bingo, we now have something called super gonorrhea on the rise because of the overuse of antibiotics to combat COVID-19.
BGR — In the case of gonorrhea, the bacterium that causes the infection has, over time, adapted to common first-line treatments. In particular, the new “super” strain of the infection doesn’t respond to treatment with azithromycin, which has long been the go-to medication option.
“Overuse of antibiotics in the community can fuel the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in gonorrhea,” a WHO spokesperson told The Sun. “Azithromycin – a common antibiotic for treating respiratory infections – was used for Covid-19 treatment earlier in the epidemic.”
“During the pandemic, STI services have also been disrupted. This means more STI cases are not diagnosed properly with more people self-medicating as a result. Such a situation can fuel emergence of resistance in gonorrhea including gonorrhea superbug (super gonorrhea) or gonorrhea with high level resistance to current antibiotics recommended to treat it.”
So we're trying to kill COVID so that super gonorrhea can live its best life. That's fantastic news. This whole time we've been coming up with treatments for a pandemic, super gonorrhea was just lying in the weeds waiting to pounce. It's the ultimate long con.
Honestly, whatever. I've seen so many headlines like this in 2020 that they don't even remotely faze me anymore. The murder hornets came and went. The aliens planted statues all over the world and then made them disappear. You think I'm scared of a little bit of super gonorrhea?
I do imagine the diagnosis of super gonorrhea is an even more embarrassing trip to the doctor's office than the original version, however. Just hearing that verbiage attributed to you has to be a real kick to the coin pouch.
Y'all just stay safe out there because super gonorrhea is taking no prisoners right now.