Latest news with #gonorrhea
Daily Mail
22-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Map reveals where you are most at risk of getting sexually transmitted diseases... where does YOUR state rank?
Americans living in the south could be most at risk of sexually transmitted diseases, a new study reveals. Louisiana had the country's highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), which include chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and HIV. It suffered 1,200 STD cases per 100,000 residents, making it the state most stricken by diseases that spread through sex, skin-to-skin contact and from mother to child during birth. In particular, Louisiana had the highest rate of chlamydia, America's most common STD that affects 1.6million adults every year. Mississippi and Alaska followed close behind with 1,084 and 1,067 STD cases per 100,000 people, respectively. Alaska also recorded the most instances of gonorrhea, which experts have previously blamed on weak public health infrastructure and high rates of substance abuse. It's the same state where a woman died earlier this year of disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI), which occurs when the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea invades the bloodstream and travels to vital organs. Meanwhile, Georgia, which had the fourth-highest overall STD rate, recorded the most HIV cases with 25.5 per 100,000. South Dakota rounded out the top five, recording the highest rate of syphilis infections. On the other hand, states in New England had the lowest STD rates, with Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine falling to the bottom of the list. The rankings, provided by a new study from Invigor Medical, used the latest CDC data - from 2023 - to calculate STD rates for all 50 states. The researchers found many states ranking in the top 10 have limited access to sexual health clinics and emphasize abstinence education as a primary method to prevent pregnancy and STDs, which could be drivers behind their higher rates. And many states do not mandate sex education in schools, meaning millions of students miss out on potentially life-saving information. States like Alaska and South Dakota also have higher numbers of outbreaks among Indigenous populations, which are more likely to have limited access to care. People in the New England region, on the other hand, typically have higher household incomes and rates of insurance, making them better able to access care and sexual education. The report also found women in the US are 10 percent more likely than men to be diagnosed with an STD, with a rate of 902 cases per 100,000 compared to 819. This could be because women are screened more often during routine reproductive health visits, while cases in men may go undiagnosed. The vagina also has a moist, thin lining that is easily penetrable, making it prone to infections. Louisiana had the country's highest rate of chlamydia with 792 cases per 100,000 residents. This added up to 36,242 diagnoses in 2023. Nationwide, chlamydia affects 1.6million Americans every year. Common symptoms of chlamydia include abnormal or foul-smelling vaginal discharge, pelvic pain, abdominal tenderness, pain during intercourse, irregular bleeding, and fever. However, less than half of infections show symptoms, and many are asymptomatic. Mississippi followed close behind overall and had the second-highest rate of chlamydia, with 701 cases per 100,000. Alaska recorded 1,067 STDs per 100,000 people in 2023 and had the highest rate of gonorrhea at 311 cases per 100,000. This adds up to about 2,280. Untreated gonorrhea can lead to serious health issues, including pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility. And while the infection can usually be easily treated, some strains are resistant to commonly used antibiotics - making them harder to clear. Earlier this year in Alaska, an unnamed woman in her 50s died from disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI) after contracting gonorrhea. This causes her to go into sepsis and heart failure. In DGI, gonorrhea infections travel to the bloodstream and infect organs throughout the body due to the infection going untreated. It's thought to occur in just 0.5 percent of gonorrhea cases. She is one of eight Alaskans to be identified with DGI since January of this year, the state health department said. The above chart from Invigor Medical shows the rate of STDs in the US by age group and sex Georgia, which had the fourth-highest rate of STDs overall, topped the list for HIV infections. It had an HIV rate of 25.5 per 100,000, totaling 2,359 cases. Nationwide, the HIV rate is 14 cases per 100,000 people. HIV, which stands for human immunodeficiency virus, attacks the body's immune system and leaves it unable to fight off foreign invaders. Left untreated, it can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Georgia's high rate could be from recent HIV outbreaks in the Atlanta area. South Dakota rounded out the top five with an overall STD rate of 1,015 per 100,000. It also had the highest rate of syphilis at 223 per 100,000 or roughly 2,000 cases. Syphilis among all ages is on the rise nationwide, increasing nearly 80 percent over the past five years, and the surge is worrying public health officials, as the disease can advance to damage the brain, nerves, eyes, and heart if it goes untreated. Symptoms begin with small open sores on the genitals, mouth, or rectum, as well as enlarged lymph nodes. In the second stage, a skin rash develops, as well as genitals sores, fever, muscle and joint pain, vision changes, and loss of appetite. When the infection advances further, it can inflame and damage heart valves and slowly degrade the brain, causing personality changes, memory loss, difficulty making decisions, and strokes. On the other end of the spectrum, Vermont recorded the fewest STD cases with a rate of 241 per 100,000. Schools in the state have more robust sexual health education programs than in other areas like the south. Its largest demographic is also over 60, a group historically less affected by STDs.
Health Line
22-07-2025
- Health
- Health Line
Gonorrhea Home Remedies: Separating Fact from Fiction
Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria. While the internet is full of potential home remedies for gonorrhea, these aren't reliable. Antibiotics are the only effective treatment for gonorrhea. Why aren't home remedies for gonorrhea reliable? Researchers have actually put a lot of popular gonorrhea home remedies to the test in various studies over the years. Let's examine why they don't hold up. Garlic Garlic is known for its antibacterial properties, making it a common home remedy for bacterial infections. An older 2005 study examined the effects of garlic products and extracts on gonorrhea-causing bacteria. The researchers found that 47% of the products studied showed antimicrobial activity against the bacteria. This sounds promising — but since this study just tested garlic against bacteria in a laboratory setting, we do not know whether the same effect would be shown in humans with the infection. Apple cider vinegar An internet search for natural gonorrhea remedies often comes up with suggestions for apple cider vinegar to be taken orally or applied topically as a solution. However, there aren't any research studies to either support or refute these claims. While apple cider vinegar might have some antibacterial properties, it's also highly acidic, which can irritate the delicate tissues of your genitals. Listerine In a 2016 study, researchers looked at the effects of the antiseptic mouthwash Listerine on gonorrhea bacteria present in people's mouths. The study's researchers asked men who had oral gonorrhea to use Listerine mouthwash or a placebo for 1 minute daily. At the study's conclusion, the researchers found that 52% of men who used Listerine showed a positive test for the bacteria, compared with 84% of those who used a saline placebo mouthwash. Listerine may reduce the amount of gonorrhea bacteria in the throat, but the study has limitations. Further examination of Listerine in the management of pharyngeal gonorrhea is required. Goldenseal Goldenseal is a plant with antimicrobial properties. European settlers used it to treat gonorrhea in the 1800s. While some older research exists surrounding using goldenseal as an alternative to antibiotics to treat resistant staph bacteria, there isn't any significant research about goldenseal to treat gonorrhea. While settlers may have tried it a long time ago, it's not a proven method today. What should I do instead? Antibiotics are the only proven way to reliably treat and cure gonorrhea. The CDC recommends treating uncomplicated gonorrhea with a single 500-milligram intramuscular dose of ceftriaxone. The recommendation applies to infections around the urinary tract, genitals, anus, rectum, and pharynx. The CDC previously recommended ceftriaxone plus oral azithromycin. The recommendations were changed because azithromycin resistance is an increasing concern. If you're allergic to ceftriaxone, your doctor may prescribe other medications. If you still have symptoms 3 to 5 days after finishing antibiotic treatment, speak with a healthcare professional again. You may need a different antibiotic or additional treatment. To avoid transmitting the infection to others, avoid all sexual activity until you have completed treatment and no longer have symptoms. It's also important for your sexual partners to get tested and treated as well. Early treatment is key While antibiotics clear up the infection, they won't necessarily reverse any of the complications discussed below. This is why it's so important to start antibiotic treatment as soon as possible and to be under the care of a healthcare professional while treating this infection. Using home remedies also runs the risk of causing irritation to the area as well as potentially delaying treatment. Don't wait to see a healthcare professional if you have symptoms of gonorrhea. »FIND CARE: Find a primary care doctor in your area today. Can gonorrhea have complications? Without treatment, gonorrhea can lead to complications that can have lasting effects. In men, this includes epididymitis, an inflammation of the tube that carries sperm. Severe epididymitis can lead to infertility. In women, untreated gonorrhea can cause pelvic inflammatory disease. That can lead to its own complications, such as: infertility ectopic pregnancy pelvic abscesses A pregnant person can also transmit gonorrhea to a newborn, resulting in joint infections, blindness, and blood-related infections in the newborn. If you're pregnant and think you may have gonorrhea, see a healthcare professional immediately for treatment. In any gender, gonorrhea can also enter the bloodstream, causing a condition called disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI). In severe cases, DGI can be life threatening, though this is rare.
Medscape
18-07-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Gaps in STI Incidence and Testing Prevail in New York City
TOPLINE: This cross-sectional study of adults residing in New York City showed discrepancies between testing rates for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and HIV and their incidence across demographics and socioeconomic status, potentially missing out cases among individuals who were not concurrently tested. METHODOLOGY: Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study to compare testing, diagnosis patterns, and sociodemographic disparities among patients with STIs, particularly chlamydia, gonorrhea, and HIV, in New York City between January 2018 and June 2023. They analyzed 4,767,322 patients (mean age, 46 years; 61% women) from Healthix — a public health information exchange that collects data from healthcare facilities and stratified them by poverty level based on their residential area. The primary outcomes were proportion tested and confirmed positive for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and/or HIV. The patterns of concurrent testing, coinfection, and their variation based on sociodemographic and geographic factors were also evaluated. TAKEAWAY: During the study period, 1,519,121 chlamydia tests, 1,574,772 gonorrhea tests, and 1,200,560 HIV tests were conducted, with positivity rates of 2%, 1%, and 0.3%, respectively. Chlamydia and gonorrhea testing were predominantly concurrent (98% of chlamydia tests and 95% of gonorrhea tests); however, only 44% of HIV tests were conducted simultaneously with those for both chlamydia and gonorrhea. Men were less likely than women to be tested for chlamydia (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62) and gonorrhea (aOR, 0.63), yet when tested, they had higher odds of testing positive for those infections (aOR, 1.09 and 3.28, respectively). In contrast, men had 16% higher odds of being tested for HIV and were also more likely to test positive for HIV. Individuals residing in very high-poverty areas were less likely to be tested but more likely to test positive for all three STIs than those residing in low-poverty areas. IN PRACTICE: 'Improving surveillance capacity may offer a more nuanced understanding of population- and neighborhood-level patterns, elucidate inequity, inform targeted intervention, and improve resource allocation,' the authors of the study wrote. SOURCE: This study was led by Harry Reyes Nieva, PhD, Columbia University, New York City. It was published online on June 17, 2025, in JAMA Network Open. LIMITATIONS: Healthix did not capture all testing conducted in New York City, and data on race and ethnicity of a substantial proportion of patients were missing. Although individuals on HIV preexposure prophylaxis typically undergo regular STI screening, the analysis approach did not fully account for its effect on the findings. DISCLOSURES: This study was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health and a fellowship from the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group in High Performance Computing. One author reported receiving grants from the study funders. This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
Daily Mail
04-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Alaska woman dies from rampant STD after infection spreads throughout her organs
An Alaska woman has died after a rare and severe complication of gonorrhea, health officials report. The unnamed woman, who was in her 50s, died this spring from disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI), which occurs when the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea invades the bloodstream and travels to vital organs. According to the Alaska Department of Health, the woman arrived at her local emergency department in Anchorage in heart failure and septic shock, the body's extreme overreaction to an infection. She had contracted gonorrhea, which affects 700,000 Americans a year, at some point within the previous six months. It's unclear if she had any other health issues other than opioid addiction and if she contracted gonorrhea from a long-term partner. The diagnosis of DGI only came after her death because she declined so quickly. Her cause of death was primarily due to the sepsis and heart failure. The woman's death comes as Alaska records the second-highest rate of STIs in the country, only falling behind Mississippi. Experts believe this is due to weak public health infrastructure and high rates of substance abuse, among other factors. The latest data shows 25 people per 100,000 Alaska residents have gonorrhea, and cases of syphilis have surged 20-fold since 2016. The woman in the report was one of eight Alaskans to be identified with DGI between January and May of this year, the health department said in a bulletin. They ranged in age from 32 to 59, and five of them were women. The average age was 40. There were no other recorded deaths from DGI. None of the patients in the report are thought to be connected to one another. The woman who died had been treated twice in the prior six months for opioid addiction, but there was no record of gonorrhea testing. Gonorrhea is an STI caused by the bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which spreads through bodily fluids like semen and vaginal fluids. It can move from person to person through oral sex, intercourse or sharing sex toys with an infected person. Most people with gonorrhea are between ages 15 and 24 and don't have symptoms, though the infection can cause unusual genital discharge, pain during sex, pain during urination, lower abdominal pain, itching, testicular pain in men and bleeding in between periods for women. In DGI, gonorrhea infections travel to the bloodstream and infect organs throughout the body due to the infection going untreated. DGI is thought to occur in just 0.5 percent of all gonorrhea cases. Health officials writing the Alaska report said risk factors for DGI, based on the women's medical records, were methamphetamine and opioid use, alcoholism, injected drug use, homelessness and having multiple sexual partners within a year. Cases of STIs in the US have spiked 90 percent in the last 20 years, but a recent slowdown has been observed. In a 2024 CDC report, reported cases of gonorrhea fell for a second year, declining seven percent from 2022 to below pre-pandemic levels. Alaska's health department recommends adults be tested for gonorrhea if they have at least one of the following risk factors: being under 25 years old, having a new partner, having more than one partner, previous STIs, a history of prostitution or a history of being incarcerated. And people who are sexually active and have a new partner, history of drug use or past STI should be tested every three to six months.
Gizmodo
03-07-2025
- Health
- Gizmodo
Alaskan Woman's Death From Gonorrhea Sparks Fears of a New Strain
A well-known sexually transmitted infection might be causing more trouble than usual in Alaska. Local health officials this week have reported the death of a woman in her 50s from a rare complication of gonorrhea that's becoming increasingly more common in the state. On Monday, the Alaska Department of Health detailed the tragic death in its latest epidemiology bulletin. The woman died from an untreated gonorrhea infection that had spread widely throughout her body. Health officials are worried that novel strains of the bacteria may be behind a spike of similar cases reported in the area over the past three years. Gonorrhea is caused by the bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and it's one of the most commonly reported STIs worldwide. In 2023, there were over 600,000 documented cases of gonorrhea in the U.S. alone. Common symptoms include puke-colored genital discharge and bloody urination, as well as swollen testicles in men and bleeding between periods for women. One reason why gonorrhea is dangerous, however, is that it often doesn't cause symptoms at all. And when it goes unnoticed and untreated, it can potentially trigger infertility and raise the risk of catching other STIs. If it's passed down from mother to child in the womb, the infection can also cause severe complications like blindness in the newborn. The Rise of Super Gonorrhea Seldomly, the bacteria migrate away from where they normally infect us (the genitals and sometimes the throat) to other parts of the body. This complication is called a disseminated gonococcal infection, or DGI. DGIs can cause varying health problems, depending on where the bacteria end up, such as arthritis or skin lesions. On very rare occasions, the infection can turn lethal if it reaches vital areas like the heart or bloodstream. In this particular case, the woman visited a local emergency room in Anchorage earlier this spring with symptoms of respiratory distress. She was diagnosed with septic shock and heart failure caused by endocarditis (an inflammation of the inner lining of our heart's valves and chambers). Tests confirmed the widespread presence of gonorrhea bacteria in her body and bloodstream. Soon after, she succumbed to her infection. While DGI is rare, and deaths from it even rarer, something strange appears to be happening in Alaska as of late. Since 2023, there's been a marked increase in reported DGI cases. In 2024, there were 24 documented cases—three times higher than the tally reported in 2023 (eight cases) and ten times higher than 2022 (two cases). So far in 2025, there have been eight reported cases of DGI, still well above the typical average in Alaska and the U.S. as a whole. In many of these cases, including the latest one, people experienced no or few symptoms of their gonorrhea prior to their DGI. They also often had no clear risk factors for an STI and sometimes even tested negative on standard urine and genital swab tests for gonorrhea. Though officials haven't identified a specific link or chain of transmission between these cases, they suspect that emerging strains of gonorrhea could be causing the local rise in DGI. These strains might be more likely to cause DGI in general, or they might be less likely to cause initial symptoms, allowing infections to go untreated at a higher rate than typical. Though there are still many questions to be answered, health officials are warning residents to be especially proactive about their sexual health. 'People in the Anchorage area with a new sexual partner, more than one sexual partner, or a partner with multiple partners might be at risk of acquiring a strain of N. gonorrhoeae thought to carry a higher risk of causing DGI,' the health department stated in its bulletin. Officials are recommending that people with these risk factors get regularly tested for gonorrhea every three to six months. Super Gonorrhea May Have Met Its Nemesis This isn't the only recent new trick that gonorrhea has gotten up its sleeve. Other strains of the bacteria have increasingly evolved resistance to the last remaining frontline drugs available against it. These cases of super gonorrhea, while still rare, are spreading as well. Just last month, researchers reported the first such case discovered in Canada.
