The sexually transmitted disease/infection (STD/STI) mycoplasma genitalium (M. genitalium), which some news reports say could become the next superbug, is showing up across the U.S.

•It’s a superbug because it’s a bacterium that lacks a cell wall, which makes it resistant to most commonly used antibiotics
•In the U.S., M. genitalium seems to be more common than gonorrhea but less common than chlamydia
•M. genitalium is estimated to infect more than 1 % of people ages 16 to 44 in the U.S. and United Kingdom (UK)
•The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has called M. genitalium an emerging issue

M. genitalium is an STD requiring genital to genital contact. It affects both men and women. Symptoms include:

•Urethral discharge (i.e., discharge from the penis)
•Some burning with urination
•Vaginal discharge
•Mild lower abdominal pain
•Inflammation of the cervix (known as cervicitis)

Some people don’t have any symptoms at all, and do not know they have it until it causes other problems, including pelvic inflammatory disease, which can lead to infertility in severe cases.

There is no current recommended screening for M. genitalium. The antibiotics that are generally recommended to treat urethritis, cervicitis and pelvic inflammatory disease are usually not very effective against M. genitalium.

Thus, when typical antibiotics fail to ease persistent urogenital symptoms, it can be a sign that M. genitalium is present and doctors need to shift to the drugs known to work on this STD.

The best way to prevent M. genitalium: Safe sex, especially the use of condoms.

At Cross Street Medical, our experienced doctors are able to identify and treat STD, including M. genitalium, effectively

https://muschealth.org/patients-visitors/news/2018/07/13/std-called-mg-is-new-kid-on-the-block
https://www.livescience.com/52826-mycoplasma-genitalium-std.html