Originally published February 13 2006
Australian study focuses on a lesser-known STD spread through oral sex
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Journal of Infectious Diseases has published a study carried out by Australian researchers at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, which devoted its research efforts to nongonococcal urethritis (NGU), a common sexually transmitted disease that affects men and women and, as this study suggests, may be spread through oral sex.
Oral sex may be a risk factor for nongonococcal urethritis (NGU), one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases affecting both men and women, according to a new study in the February 1 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online.
The study, by Australian researchers Catriona Bradshaw, MD, and colleagues at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, is the first major case-control study to simultaneously address all currently hypothesized causes of NGU.
The findings help to identify areas for future research on the causes of NGU, and suggest that treatment decisions should be based on clinical features of the disease--not just microscopic assessment.
NGU is caused by a number of different organisms (most notably, Chlamydia trachomatis) and may lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, and chronic pelvic pain.
Results of previous studies show that Chlamydia trachomatis causes between 30 percent to 50 percent of cases of NGU and Mycoplasma genitalium, 10 percent to 30 percent.
Chlamydial infection was common in both heterosexual and homosexual men with NGU (22 percent and 15 percent, respectively) and was far more common than in control groups.
Adenoviruses and herpes simplex type 1 were associated with oral sex and sex between male partners, suggesting that oral-genital contact may be an important mechanism of NGU pathogen transmission.
In addition, oral sex was associated with NGU in which no pathogen was detected, indicating that there are causes of NGU that have yet to be identified.
The study also found that type 1 herpes simplex virus (HSV-1), the usual cause of oral herpes (cold sores), accounted for more NGU cases than did HSV-2; that herpetic NGU was most commonly associated with fellatio; and that up to a third of NGU cases associated with known pathogens were not associated with increased numbers of white blood cells in urethral secretions.
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