Infertility threat of new STD that may turn into superbug

 A new sexually transmitted disease that is often mistaken for chlamydia is turning into a superbug, sexual health experts have warned.

Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) has similar symptoms to chlamydia but is more resistant to treatment and can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease in women and, ultimately, infertility.

First identified in the Eighties, MG often has no symptoms but in women it can cause a burning sensation when urinating and pain or bleeding during and after sex. In men, symptoms include watery discharge from the penis. Around 1-2 per cent of men and women are thought to be infected, although rates in some STD clinics are as high as 38 per cent.

The British Association of Sexual Health and HIV has launched new guidelines for the treatment and diagnosis of the disease, which recommend a nucleic acid amplification test. However, a survey by the association of 125 out of 152 public health commissioners in England – responsible for commissioning sexual health services in their local areas – has shown that just one in 10 plan to fund MG diagnostic testing in the next financial year.

Dr Paddy Horner, of the University of Bristol, one of the authors of the new guidelines, said: “If practices do not change and the tests are not used, MG has the potential to become a superbug within a decade, resistant to standard antibiotics.”