New Zealand Braces For ‘Super Gonorrhea’: It’s A Matter Of ‘WHEN, Not If’

The island nation of New Zealand is bracing itself for what scientists are calling “super gonorrhea.”  They say it is not a matter of ‘if’ the nation will be impacted by the disease, but a matter of ‘when.’

A historically resistant strain of gonorrhea has made its way from South East Asia to the United Kingdom and Australia, and experts are warning New Zealand will be struck next by the antibiotic-resistant super-bug gonorrhea strain. It’s in Eastern Australia, and it’s in Queensland, Australia, so those in New Zealand are rightly concerned.

Last month, it was reported a British man had contracted what was dubbed the world’s ‘worst ever’ case of gonorrhea, that he picked up in southeast Asia. It was the first documented case of the sexually transmitted infection that could not be cured with a combination of standard antibiotics. England’s public health agency even launched an “incident response” after discovering more cases of gonorrhea recently that are resistant to nearly all antibiotics currently available.

So, how long will it be before it makes its way to New Zealand? According to Family Planning’s Christine Roke, “if it isn’t here now, it will be very soon.” Auckland University associate professor of infectious diseases Mark Thomas agrees, telling Morning Report it’s “almost certain” there will be cases within the next year or two. It’s simply a matter of “who has sex with who,” he said.

Gonorrhea is caused by the Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria. The symptoms of the disease are difficult for men to live with, so most know fairly soon if they’ve contracted the infection. Symptoms can include discolored discharge, stomach pain, various forms of bleeding from the genitalia, discharge or bleeding from the anus and, for the fellas, sore testes. Women often are unaware of an infection, as it normally infects the cervix, which has no sensation. Occasionally you may also get a dry throat if you’ve contracted the bacteria.  Normally, it has been easily treated with antibiotics, however, this new strain, appears to be resistant.

“The problem with gonorrhea is it’s a very wily bug,” says Roke. “And it’s able to mutate very easily. This leads to developing resistance.” Thomas agreed, adding that it is entirely possible that within the next ten years, humanity will run out of drugs to treat the bacteria. Roke also says that with international travel at the levels it is these days, it’s only a matter of time before someone smuggles the gonorrhea bacteria unintentionally into the country. As invasive as customs can be, New Zealand is not exactly screening for this stuff at the border.

Thomas said the current test for gonorrhea does not determine if the usual treatment of an injection antibiotic and two oral antibiotic pills will work. He said more resistant strains will require hospitals to administer the necessary antibiotics.

OUTBREAK Alert: Flesh-Eating Bacterial Infection Spreads RAPIDLY In Australia

An infectious flesh-eating ulcer caused by a bacteria is spreading so quickly through Australia that scientists in the state of Victoria are declaring this outbreak an epidemic.  Normally abundant in West and central Africa and, the buruli ulcer is now taking hold in the “land down under.”

In a study published Monday in the Medical Journal of Australia, the authors caution that the outbreak of the ulcers, described as an “epidemic” in the study, requires an “urgent scientific response.” They report that Victoria is facing a worsening epidemic “defined by cases rapidly increasing in number, becoming more severe in nature, and occurring in new geographic areas.”

Buruli ulcer is caused by infection with the organism Mycobacterium ulcerans. It often affects the skin by deteriorating the tissue, but can go so deep it affects the bone structure. The organism belongs to the family of bacteria that causes tuberculosis and leprosy. However, M. ulcerans is an environmental bacterium and the mode of transmission to humans remains unknown. The organism produces a unique toxin – mycolactone – which causes tissue damage and inhibits the immune response.

According to numbers reported by CNN, in 2016, there were 182 new cases reported, a spike of 72%. But even this number was dwarfed by a further increase of 51% from November 2016 to the same month a year later. In November 2016, there were 156, which rose to 236 cases.

“In Australia, it seems more to be a terrestrial transmission whereas in Africa, for example, the strain is very different and is mostly transmitted through aquatic ecosystems,” said Andres Garchitorena, a researcher at the Institute of Research and Development in France and an expert on Buruli ulcers, who was not involved in the most recent report.

But the cases in Australia are becoming more severe and doctors also do not know the reason.  “One possibility is maybe there’s some resistance to the antibiotics that they are using,” Garchitorena said. “It is difficult to prevent a disease when it is not known how infection is acquired,” wrote the lead author and associate professor Daniel O’Brien, an infectious diseases consultant.

Although some deaths from the infection have been reported, most cases are not life-threatening, according to Garchitorena. “There are cases where people have died, but the most common outcome when it’s not treated is a handicap: People may need an amputation or surgery with functional limitations for life,” he said. WHO also reports management of the buruli ulcer becomes more difficult when the patient is dealing with a coinfection of HIV, perhaps lending to the increased severity of the infections in Africa, although that’s largely speculation as still more in-depth studies of this disease are warranted.

The majority of cases are still being reported in West and Central Africa, including Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ghana. There are no predictable trends in the number of cases reported yearly either.

Salmonella OUTBREAK: CDC Blames Herbal Supplement Kratom

An outbreak of salmonella in 20 states is being blamed on kratom.  According to the CDC, Americans should stay away from kratom for now, until the origin of the outbreak can be pinpointed.

According to federal government health agents, a popular herb called kratom is linked to an outbreak of salmonella that has made 28 people sick in 20 states. Eleven people have been sick enough to need hospitalization. The government agency, the CDC also claims the “most of the people who have been made seriously ill in the outbreak remember having recently used some form of kratom.” Most?

“At this time, CDC recommends that people not consume kratom in any form. The investigation indicates that kratom products could be contaminated with Salmonella and could make people sick,” the CDC says on its website.

Kratom has been the focus of a storm of controversy. The Food and Drug Administration has issued increasingly urgent warnings about the herb, saying it acts like an opioid drug and advising people to stay away from it. –NBC News

Kratom enthusiasts say it’s enjoyable to use recreationally, but they also say it is also useful for treating withdrawal symptoms from opioid use and can be used to treat pain. “Kratom is not a drug,” the American Kratom Association says on its website. “Kratom is not a drug. Kratom is not an opiate. Kratom is not a synthetic substance. Naturally, occurring Kratom is a safe herbal supplement that’s more akin to tea and coffee than any other substances.”

Kratom is a natural botanical native to tropical Southeast Asia that is part of the coffee family. It’s also known by its scientific name, Mitragyna speciosa. The people of Southeast Asia have used Kratom leaves as an herbal supplement and traditional remedy for hundreds of years. When taken in appropriate amounts, Kratom can provide increased energy, minor pain relief and many find relief from a variety of other mental and physical ailments. Today, people in the U.S. are consuming Kratom, as they do other herbal supplements and traditional remedies. –American Kratom Association

Salmonella is a very common bacteria that causes what we all know as food poisoning. The CDC says it is not clear how the bacteria could have gotten into supplies of kratom. But genetic testing links the cases that have been reported. Salmonella has been linked to supplements before and caused an outbreak in food powder in 2016.

“In interviews, ill people answered questions about the foods they ate and other exposures in the months before they became ill. Eight (73 percent) of 11 people interviewed reported consuming kratom in pills, powder, or tea,” the CDC said.  There doesn’t appear to one particular brand or type of kratom taking the blame, just kratom in general.

The Salmonella bacteria could have been on the plant itself, before harvesting, or in the irrigation water used on the plants, said Benjamin Chapman, an associate professor and food safety specialist at North Carolina State University. It’s also possible that the supplements became contaminated with Salmonella somewhere during the manufacturing process, he said. (Salmonella bacteria typically live in animal and human intestines, and get into the environment through fecal matter, according to the Mayo Clinic.)

Madagascar Outbreak: It Is ‘Inevitable’ The Plague Becomes Resistant To Drugs

The newest warning about the outbreak of the airborne pneumonic plague, or black death, in Madagascar has been released. Officials warn that it’s inevitable that this bacterial infection that’s infected over 2000 people will become resistant to antibiotics.

The only way to treat a person who has contracted the plague is with antibiotics. But experts now warn that because they are being used so much to treat the infection, antibiotics resistance is inevitable and making this disease much more terrifying. Once the bacteria is resistant, the Madagascar healthcare system will be overwhelmed, and the disease will have control of the nation.

According to the Daily Mail, Madagascar’s healthcare system will be unable to cope if the deadly plague outbreak continues to escalate, a scientist has warned. Scores of doctors and nurses have been struck down with the disease, which is predicted to gather momentum in the coming weeks and there are growing fears hospitals will be unable to meet the illness’ burden. Official figures reveal at least 2,034 people have been infected with the “medieval disease” so far in what has been described as the “worst outbreak in 50 years.” The black death outbreak has so far claimed at least 165 lives.

Although the plague is responding well to antibiotics right now, drug resistance is also an increasing concern amongst experts who predict it will vastly accelerate the disease’s death toll. Professor John Joe McFadden from the University of Surrey told MailOnline: “Fortunately in [the] plague, it has not developed much antibiotic resistance. If that kicks in, the plague will be far, far scarier. If you throw more and more antibiotics at patients, antibiotic resistance is more or less inevitable.”

Dr. Derek Gatherer, from Lancaster University’s biomedical and life-sciences department, told MailOnline the country would struggle “to cope” if cases continue to spiral. “Madagascar, typically like many African countries, doesn’t have many doctors. There are around three-and-a-half thousand doctors for 22 million people. They only have around 6,000 hospital beds, so they aren’t particularly well positioned to cope with these kind of events. And if it wasn’t for the international aid coming in things would definitely be much worse for them.”

And experts continue to fear the healthcare system is on the brink of being overwhelmed. Should the disease actually spread to the African mainland, it will be all but impossible to control and the health care system would certainly be unable to handle the outbreak at that point, making a global pandemic much more likely.