STDs

When I read this week’s prompt, I was a bit skeptical about how easy it would be to find articles that discuss changes regarding STDs in the last 6 months, but I was wrong. I was delighted when I found a recent article that explained a correlation between rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea and, believe it or not, fracking in Texas. According to this article, Texas counties where fracking was common reported rates of gonorrhea 15% higher than other counties, and chlamydia rates were 10% higher in fracking counties than other counties. The article went on to explain that this increase in STD rates is caused by the influx of young men that come to work on the fracking sites. New young men bring STDs into the fracking counties, and they transmit these diseases to other sexually active people in the community. The researchers behind this study emphasized the importance of educating community members and nonlocal workers on how to prevent transmission of STDs where they will likely be comingling of people from different regions.

              On a more serious note, I also found an article discussing a potential cure for gonorrhea in women that may be available in the near future. N. gonorrhoeae can quickly develop antibiotic resistance, so previous attempts at treating infections with antibiotics are not effective long term. To treat infections that can rapidly acquire resistance to antibiotics, scientists may target host cells in a way that prevents the bacteria from establishing an infection. Carbamazepine and methyldopa are two drugs used to treat two different conditions, but scientists believe that they me be an effective treatment for gonorrhea when used together. These drugs bind to CR3 receptors on the cell surface to block N. gonorrhoeae from binding to these receptors and establishing an infection in humans. However, CR3 receptors are not present in animals used in laboratory tests, so it is difficult for scientists to test this treatment in lab.

              To develop this possible treatment without being able to test it in animals, scientists are using primary epithelial cervical cells to simulate a human infection. In previous tests, this treatment has completely cleared infections of multi-drug resistant N. gonorrhoeae infections in the primary epithelial cells. After writing about the rapid increase in multi-drug resistant bacteria in previous blog posts, I think that it is important for scientists to continue researching treatments that do not rely on antibiotics. The success of treatments that target host cells will not depend on the rapidly mutating bacteria that cause many infections. While these types of treatments may present a promising future for healthcare, prevention is still extremely important regarding STDs. Remember, the most effective ways to prevent the spread of STDs are abstinence, monogamy, and condoms.