Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) also known as Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) is one of the biggest public health burdens in the US with an estimated 20% of the population infected. Such a high prevalence of STIs coupled with many cases caused by multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) pathogens like Neisseria gonorrhoeae, are further complicating the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) which is projected to kill ~10 million people per year by 2050.
An alarming report published in the June 16 issue of the medical journal Eurosurveillance reported that an Austrian man in his fifties contracted a strain of ‘Super-Gonorrhea’ after having condomless sex with a female sex worker in Cambodia in April 2022. CDC estimates more than 1.5 million Americans catch gonorrhea, an STI caused by a bacteria called Neisseria gonorrhoeae, every year making this one of the most commonly reported STIs in the US. Since it is very hard to determine who is infected with what kind of strains, along with prevention and accessible treatment, scientists urge accurate and rapid diagnosis and eradication of the sporadic XDR gonococcal strains, using effective testing like Acutis Reveal™ STI, to avoid any clonal expansion and sustained transmission of these strains.
