Mycoplasma Genitalium: Symptoms, Causes And Treatment Of This STD
Talking about sexually transmitted diseases or infections is common nowadays, this type of disease being one of the most widespread epidemics and the greatest challenge today on a medical level. When we are told about STDs we generally think of HIV/AIDS, gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia or the human papillomavirus (HPV) or other problems that can be transmitted sexually such as hepatitis. But they are not the only transmitted diseases that exist.
In fact, the existence of a new venereal or STD has recently come to light that, although it was discovered in 1980, until now has been practically unknown and that, in addition to beginning to spread, has the potential to become a superbacteria resistant to antibiotics. This is mycoplasma genitalium which we are going to talk about in this article.
It is known as mycoplasma genitalium or genital mycoplasma. a hitherto rare sexually transmitted disease and which has recently begun to receive media attention when a spectacular increase in its prevalence has been observed (today it is estimated that between 1 and 2% of the population suffers from it) and it was classified in 2015 as an emerging pathogen by The OMS. This does not imply that it is a new disease, since its discovery dates back to 1980.
It is a disease that can appear asymptomatic for years, although in cases where symptoms occur, they usually appear between one and three weeks after infection. The symptoms of this disease can vary between men and women although generally both sexes tend to share the presence of inflammation in the genitourinary tract that causes pain when urinating or having sexual relations.
In the case of women, apart from dysuria or pain when urinating, there may be pain in the pelvis, during sexual relations or even when walking, redness of the urethra and inflammation of the bladder, as well as odorous discharge and abnormal bleeding. In addition to this, and I feel this is especially important, this disease has the ability to cause loss of fertility in women, as well as premature births. Bleeding may also appear after intercourse or even ectopic pregnancies (something that can be life-threatening).
In men, in addition to the symptoms in the form of pain (generally in the form of burning) when urinating, it is not strange that the urethra and prostate become inflamed, in addition to possible inflammation of the joints and purulent secretions from the urethra. It can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, urethritis, proctitis or pharyngitis.
In addition to all this, in people with a depressed immune system (for example seropositive or HIV+ patients) it can have other repercussions such as the appearance of lung, bone, dermatological or joint infections
Causes, risk population and routes of contagion
Genital mycoplasma is a disease of bacterial origin, the main cause of which is the transmission of the bacteria mycoplasma genitalium through sexual contact. This disease can be transmitted both vaginally and anally or even orally, and can infect not only the genital tissue but also the pharynx or anus. In addition, it can also be spread by touching the genitals of infected people with your hands.
Regarding the existence of risk populations, this disease can appear in both sexes and It is equally prevalent in heterosexual and homosexual couples The risk population would be made up of all those people who have a previous sexually transmitted disease, people with multiple sexual partners, people who carry out high-risk sexual practices without protection or sex workers.
Although it was discovered in the United Kingdom in 1980, its low prevalence to date and its symptomatological confusion with other sexually transmitted diseases have caused genital mycoplasma to be a little known and investigated venereal there was very little information about it until a few years ago and it was practically unknown by the population until 2015.
In fact, it is common for mycoplasma genitalium to be confused with chlamydia or sometimes with gonorrhea, although they are different infections caused by different bacteria. This makes mycoplasma genitalium difficult to treat, given that the therapeutic target would be different. In addition, There are few specific tests that allow diagnosing this disease and most of them are very recent and are available in few hospitals and clinics. At a general level, an exudate of the patient’s secretions or urine is usually collected and analyzed.
If genital mycoplasma has suddenly begun to be a cause for concern and is beginning to focus part of the scientific and social interest, it is for several reasons.
One of them is the severity and danger that this disease can have, potentially causing sterility or even causing dangerous ectopic pregnancies that could cause the death of those who suffer from them. The other, which is increasingly worrying, is due to the fact that it has been observed that mycoplasma genitalium is capable of acquiring resistance to antibiotics, and can transform into a superbacteria that is very difficult to eliminate. In addition, in many cases there are no symptoms, or comorbid presence or confusion with another STD such as chlamydia It can lead to not seeking adequate treatment.
As a general rule, the treatment of this problem is based on taking antibiotics as the most effective method although the fact that this type of infection can become resistant to treatment can make its resolution complex.
The most common is to use antibiotics from the macrolide family or azithromycin, which could be given during a single oral dose or a daily treatment of five days to a week. After this, it will be necessary to carry out some medical tests and analyzes to check if the bacteria has been eliminated.
Another of the main methods of preventing the emergence of this disease is prevention: the use of barrier methods and contraceptives especially in the case of condoms, will prevent contagion in most cases.
