Gonorrhea

Overview

Gonorrhea is a bacterial sexually transmitted disease. It is caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which is a Gram-negative diplococci. Most victims are asymptomatic which allows the bacterium to spread easily; individuals who do not know they are infected with the bacterium are more likely to continue to engage in sexual intercourse with others. Gonorrhea can be transmitted though oral, anal, and vaginal sex. Gonorrhea is usually curable with antibiotic treatment. However, as is the case with almost every bacterium, antibiotic resistance is growing quickly. To combat this, the CDC has changed its Gonorrhea treatment regimen several times over the past 20 years, according to an article from the Outbreak Observatory.

Increasing Rates of Gonorrhea

Incidence of almost every STD in the United States. This trend holds true for Gonorrhea as well. According to the above mentioned Outbreak Observatory article, Gonorrhea rates were up 63% in 2018 compared to 2014. I think much of this has to due with the fact that Gonorrhea is often a asymptomatic disease coupled with the fact that our current antibiotic treatments are becoming more and more ineffective. According to an article from the Washington Post, half of these new cases are people aging from 15-24. According to the same article, one big reason for this is due to a lack of funding to health departments due to other crises such as the opioid epidemic.

My Take

I believe that Gonorrhea and other STDs are becoming more and more prevalent for a number of reasons. For one, our sexual education in the United States is mediocre at best. “Sex-ed” in the United States focuses on abstinence. Unfortunately, most people will not adhere to abstinence; it is simply unrealistic. We should be teaching teens (including college students) about how to have safe, and hopefully monogamous, sex. Not only this, but high schools should mimic the common college practice providing free access to condoms. Most students do not understand how STDs work, and STD testing should be stressed more for college students.

Another huge problem is the United States’ healthcare system. There are many who do not have health insurance and cannot afford to visit the doctor’s office even if they suspect they have contracted some sort of STD. Thus, they go on and continue to infect other people while not getting proper treatment. We need a better form of national healthcare. Let’s stop spending so much on the military.