An international research team has discovered a strain of gonorrhea that is resistant to all currently available antibiotics.  Scientists worry the new strain may transform a common and easily treatable infection into a global threat to public health.

The discovery was made by Dr. Magnus Unemo, Dr. Makoto Ohnishi, and colleagues at the Swedish Reference Laboratory for Pathogenic Neisseria.

They identified a previously unknown variant of the bacterium that causes gohnorrhea, Neisseria gonorrhoeae.  In analyzing the new strain, dubbed H041, the researchers found that it was extremely resistant to all present antiobiotics used for treating gonorrhea.

“This is both an alarming and a predictable discovery,” said Dr. Unemo. “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.”

“While it is still too early to assess if this new strain has become widespread, the history of newly emergent resistance in the bacterium suggests that it may spread rapidly unless new drugs and effective treatment programs are developed,” he added.

Gonorrhea is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases worldwide.  In the United States alone, about 700,000 people are infected annually, according the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The STD is asymptomatic in 50 percent of infected women and five percent of infected men, but when symptoms do express themselves, they typically include a burning sensation during urination and genital discharge.  If left untreated, gonorrhea can lead to serious and irreversible damage in both men and women, including chronic pelvic pain, ectopic pregnancy, infertility and mortal lesions.

Babies born to infected mothers are also at risk of serious blood and joint infections, as well as blindness.

The research was presented at the 19th conference of the International Society for Sexually Transmitted Disease Research (ISSTDR) in Canada.

Scientists have successfully developed a fast and accurate test to distinguish between bacterial and viral infections.

As anybody who frequently finds themselves in the doctor’s office knows, these two types of infections tend to have similar symptoms but vastly different treatments.

The main difference between them is that bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics, while viruses, such as influenza and the common cold, cannot.

Determining the source of infection as soon as possible is crucial in order to begin the right treatment.  If left untreated for too long, bacterial infections can get worse.

The current tests to identify infections are typically time-consuming and not always accurate.  Researchers sought to develop a new test that would enable doctors to quickly make the right diagnosis.

In studying bacterial and viral infections, the researchers discovered the immune systems of patients reacted differently according to which type of infection they had and developed a test based on those differences.

“The method is time-saving, easy to perform and can be commercially available, thus, having predictive diagnostic value and could be implemented in various medical institutions as an adjunct to clinical decision making,” the researchers said in a press release.

After further trials, the researchers hope the test will be widely available to doctors and patients in need of it.

The study was published in the journal Analytical Chemistry.

Forty percent of American children have seasonal allergies. When a parent has allergies, his or her child will probably have them too.

Most allergies tend to appear in childhood. So, if you have seasonal allergies as an adult, you probably started getting them as a kid.

As children, boys get more allergies than girls, but as they get older, women usually catch up to men.

Even though we say allergies are seasonal, they can occur year-round. In the spring, you can get allergies to grass and pollen, and in the fall you can get allergies to ragweed, molds and spores of different kinds.

Allergies occur when pollen, mold or dust kick your immune system into high gear, triggering a release of histamines, those chemicals that are mostly responsible for the sneezing, the runny nose, the itchy throat, and the watery eyes.

If teenagers weren’t properly exposed to their environment as children, their immune system won’t be able to recognize as harmless the pollen, dust and mold spores around them every day.

Loading the Virus Protection Program

Your immune system is essentially a system of specialized cells and organs that protects you from outside threats such as viruses, bacteria and other biological outsiders.

It is during the first decade of life that it learns which biological intrusions it needs to protect you against. What this means is, if you don’t get exposed to many of the harmless biological threats in your environment during your first decade of life, if you do not challenge the immune system early, you may pay the price with seasonal allergies and asthma throughout the rest of your life.

I’m talking about the dangers of over protecting our children. Some of this overprotection has been institutionalized in the form of widespread use of antibiotics, vaccinations against various diseases, cleaner food and water, and better living conditions.

But some parents may make this “problem” worse by keeping their kids at home in a “sterilized” environment – never taking them to the park, never letting them play in a sandbox, never letting them roll around in the grass, never letting them have a pet at home, and keeping them away from other kids who may be sick.

By underexposing our children to bacteria, certain viruses, and other minor threats in the environment, their immune systems will not develop the appropriate responses, and they may end up with seasonal allergies and other problems of an inexperienced immune system.

Studies show that if you have a pet when you’re a kid, you are less likely to get asthma. The same applies to running and rolling around in the grass at the park when you are three years old; those who do tend to have fewer seasonal allergies later on. A little exposure is a good thing.

Allergy Prevention

Prevention is the best treatment for seasonal allergies. Have you heard of spring cleaning? They don’t call it that for nothing.

If people in your household have allergies, it is important to do a thorough cleaning of the house, especially in the spring, by removing all the dust that has collected in your house over the winter.

It’s a good time to shampoo your rugs, vacuum all the nooks and crannies, and remove the mold from all kitchen, bathroom and garage surfaces.

If you have allergies in the spring and summer, take a few precautionary steps to avoid bringing allergens back into the house.

When you come in from the outdoors, don’t bring the clothes you’ve worn outdoors into the bedroom; change in another part of the house and take a shower, if you can.

Avoid being outdoors from the late morning to early afternoon, as those are the peak hours for pollen production. Keep your windows closed if you’re really allergic.