If you've been looking for an excuse to practice abstinence, this would probably be it - a new super-strain of gonorrhea is spreading like wildfire. Oh, and it's antibiotic-resistant.

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The health world has been keeping an eye on a steep rise in the number of cases of patients contracting gonorrhea. Now, there is some fear that the reason for the spread is that this particular type of gonorrhea is a superbug and is immune to several different antibiotics.

According to doctors who have seen cases of this new super-strain of gonorrhea pop up, this version of the sexually transmitted disease has a high level of resistance to azithromycin and full resistance to ceftriaxone, cefixime, cefotaxime, ciprofloxacin, and tetracycline. Azithromycin and ceftriaxone are the medications generally used to treat gonorrhea, so the fact that this strain fights back against both is a concern.

The Centers for Disease Control say that each year, there are about 820,000 new gonorrhea infections in the United States each year and that gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported infectious disease. What's more is that the CDC says that at this time, there is only one effective class of antibiotics known to treat the disease.

Anyone who engaged in sex is at risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease, however, the CDC states that there are a few groups more susceptible and they are people aged 15 to 24, gay and bisexual men, pregnant people, and racial and ethnic minority groups.

Gonorrhea will not go away on its own, only with the use of medication which is why health professionals are alarmed by the antibiotic-resistant super-strain.

Obviously, the safest way to prevent contracting gonorrhea and other sexually transmitted diseases is to abstain from having sex. If that isn't an option for you, it is recommended to use a condom or other barrier method whenever you engage in oral, anal, or vaginal sex to lower your risk of contracting an STD.

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