Scientist Discover Gonorrhea "Superbug" by Stephens Spencer Davis/The Slatest

Some scary news on the STD front.

Scientists have discovered a “superbug” strain of gonorrhea in Japan that is resistant to all antibiotics currently used to fight the sexually transmitted disease, Reutersreports.

Researchers worry that the strain, called H041, could transform the easily treated infection into a global health threat, and say that it has already proven resistant to the only antibiotics that are still effective in treating gonorrhea.

One of the researcher’s who discovered the strain called it both “alarming” and "predictable.”

"Since antibiotics became the standard treatment for gonorrhea in the 1940s, this bacterium has shown a remarkable capacity to develop resistance mechanisms to all drugs introduced to control it," said the researcher, Magnus Unemo.

If left untreated, gonorrhea can lead to ectopic pregnancy and infertility in women.

Unemo sees the strain’s discovery in Japan as part of a larger pattern. "Japan has historically been the place for the first emergence and subsequent global spread of different types of resistance in gonorrhea," he said.

There were indications that gonorrhea could become a superbug last year, when reports emerged from Hong Kong, China, Australia, and other parts of Asia about the disease’s resistance to drugs.

The STD is one of the most common in the world and there are about 700,000 cases annually in the United States alone.

Unemo is slated to present details of his findings at a conference of the International Society for Sexually Transmitted Disease Research later Monday.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and/or believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”