Medicine: Scientists Discover New STD, Mycoplasma Genitalium Causes Painful Urination, Bleeding. Healthcare

UK Scientists have confirmed the existence of a
new sexually transmitted disease called
mycoplasma genitalium.
The confirmation of the bacterial disease, which
causes painful urination among other things, as an
STD comes more than two decades after it was first
discovered.

A team of fourteen researchers arrived at the
conclusion after conducting a national survey of the
sexual lifestyles and attitudes of British men and
women.
The researchers said the study, which involved the
testing urine from 4,507 sexually experienced
participants aged 16 to 44 years for MG,
"strengthens evidence that MG is an STI".
They added, "MG was identified in over one per cent
of the population, including in men with high-risk
behaviours in older age groups that are often not
included in STI prevention measures."

The study found that men of black ethnicity were
more likely to test positive for MG and showed
that the prevalence of the disease was 1.2 per
cent in men and 1.3 per cent in women.
It also found that for both men and women, the
disease was strongly associated with reporting
risk behaviours such as increasing the number of
total and new partners and unsafe sex in the past
year.

Although it recorded no positive MG tests in men
aged 16 to19, prevalence peaked at 2.1 per cent
in men aged 25–34 years, while prevalence in
was highest in 16 to 19-year-olds at 2.4 per cent
and decrease with age.
It added, "Men with MG were more likely to report
previously diagnosed gonorrhoea, syphilis or non-
specific urethritis, and women previous
trichomoniasis."

Health.com in an article on about the study
quoted a clinical associate professor, Raquel
Dardik, as saying the symptoms for women
included irritation, painful urination and bleeding
after sex, while those for men included painful
urination and watery discharge from the penis.
According to the article, the disease has been linked
to both inflammation in the cervix (cervicitis) and
pelvic inflammatory disease, which is a serious
condition often caused by other STDs like chlamydia
and gonorrhea.

Dardik was also quoted as saying that around 10
per cent of women who develop PID (which
causes abdominal pain, fever, painful cervix, and
pain or bleeding during sex), could blame MG as
the underlying cause.
She, however, said people could get tested for MD
and that it was treatable with the antibiotic
azithromycin, adding that the use of condoms was an
effective way of preventing it.

Dr. Jorgen Jensen of the Mycoplasma
Laboratory, Statens Serum Institut in Denmark,
however, said although the single-dose
azithromycin treatment was best for MG, it was
not good enough.
He explained in an article published in an issue of
Clinical Infectious Diseases that although initial in
vitro studies suggested that antibiotics of the
tetracycline class were active, clinical experience
soon demonstrated their inefficiency in producing
both microbiologic and clinical cure.

He added that two recently published
observational studies of 120 Australian and 183
Norwegian MG-positive patients found that only
84 per cent and 79 per cent, respectively, were
cured by a single 1-g dose of azithromycin.
Jensen said, "(A study the study by) Mena et al
provides a clear-cut answer to the question of
whether multidose doxycycline or single-dose
azithromycin is most efficient for the treatment of M.
genitalium—positive urethritis; undoubtedly,
azithromycin is best. However, it is not good enough,
and additional studies of new approaches are
definitely needed."

[AFP]