STD More Infectious Than AIDS Discovered

The 'sex superbug' called H041 was first discovered in Japan in 2011. It spread to Hawaii, and has now surfaced in California and Norway.

Health officials are warning that two cases of the so-called 'sex superbug' have been confirmed in Hawaii.

Hawaii News Now reports that the 'sex superbug' is a resistant strain of gonorrhea.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked Congress for $50 million to find a new antibiotic to treat the drug-resistant strain of the disease. The first case in the nation was identified in a young woman in Hawaii in May 2011.




Doctors are warning that an antibiotic-resistant strain of gonorrhoea, now considered a superbug, has the potential to be as deadly as the AIDS virus.

Gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported sexually transmitted infection in North America.
‘This might be a lot worse than AIDS in the short run because the bacteria is more aggressive and will affect more people quickly,’ Alan Christianson, a doctor of naturopathic medicine told CNBC.

Nearly 30 million people have died from AIDS related causes worldwide, but Christianson believes the effect of the gonorrhea bacteria is more direct.


‘Getting gonorrhea from this strain might put someone into septic shock and death in a matter of days,’ Christianson said. ‘This is very dangerous.’


Although no deaths from HO41 have been reported as yet, experts say avoiding the disease completely is the best course of action.

‘People need to practice safe sex, like always,’ Christianson said. ‘Anyone beginning a new relationship should get tested along with their partner.

'The way gonorrhea works, not everyone knows they have it. And with this new strain it's even more important than ever to find out.’

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease that has been known since medieval times. Sometimes known as ‘the clap,’ the infection can result in painful sores and genital discharge, and is associated with ectopic pregnancies and sterility in both men and women.

Left untreated, gonorrhea can lead to a host of complications including pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, and blood stream infections.

It also raises the risk for HIV because the lesions permit the AIDS-causing virus easier access to the bloodstream.

Gonorrhea is especially common among people between the ages of 15 and 24.
The disease became curable in the 1940s when penicillin and other antibiotics were introduced. Since then, the medical world has created more new drugs that killed the ever-mutating gonorrhea bacteria.