Is this a new STD?
No. Some news outlets have described M. genitalium as a "new" sexually transmitted infection, but the bacteria were first discovered in 1980, however a recent study reveals that it likely spreads via unprotected sexual contact. What symptoms does it cause? Men: Inflammation of the urethra (burning pain while urinating or discharge from the penis) Women: Inflammation of the cervix (cervicitis), as well as pelvic inflammatory disease (pain in lower abdomen and pain or bleeding during sex) Do you need to treat it? The antibiotics that are generally recommended to treat urethritis, cervicitis and pelvic inflammatory disease are usually not very effective against M. genitalium. So doctors might suspect that a patient has M. genitalium if he or she doesn't get better after taking the drugs typically used to treat these other STDs. Doctors could then provide other antibiotics that are more effective against M. genitalium. Treatment for M. genitalium is often a five-day course of antibiotics How To Prevent it? The correct and consistent use of condoms. livescience.com |