Does Staphylococcus Aureus Cause Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD)?

 

What is Staphylococcus aureus? 

 

Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as "Staph", is a bacterium that is found on the skin of up to half of the population. It lives harmlessly on the body but sometimes can cause minor skin infection. However, when there is a breach on the skin,
it can enter inside the body and cause more serious infections. Another strain of the bacteria is called MRSA which stands for methicillin-resistant staphylococcal aureus.

However, before we answer the above question, let us first delve deeper and uncover the various infections caused by S. aureus.

Types of infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus.

 

• Skin and soft tissue (impetigo): A small area of redness that progresses into swellings (filled with cloudy fluid) that rupture and heal with the formation of a honey-colored crust
• Scalded skin syndrome (Ritter disease): A relatively rare, toxin-mediated disorder with superficial fragile blisters that burst, leaving a painful base; often accompanied by fever and occasionally by mucopurulent eye discharge
• Folliculitis: Painful infection of the hair shaft.
• Furuncle: This is also known as boil. Small abscesses characterized by pus discharging from an opening; involves both the skin and the subcutaneous tissues in areas with hair shaft
• Carbuncle: An aggregate of connected furuncles, with several opening that drain pus.
• Bone infections (osteomyelitis): In children, sudden onset of fever and bone pain or a limp; pain may be throbbing and severe; however, presentation in newborns can be subtle
• Septic arthritis: Decreased range of motion, warmth, redness, and joint pain with constitutional symptoms and fever; however, these signs may be absent in infants (in whom the hip is the most commonly involved joint)
• Endocarditis: Inflammation of the inner heart lining. It presents as fever and malaise; peripheral emboli may be present; may involve healthy heart valves
• Toxic shock syndrome: Fever, diffuse skin redness, and low blood pressure, with involvement of 3 or more organ systems; can be rapidly progressive in previously healthy individuals
• Pneumonia: Most common in infants, young children, and debilitated patients; a short premonitory fever followed by rapid onset of respiratory distress; prominent abdominal disturbances may also occur
• Thrombophlebitis: Inflammation of a vein. Fever, pain, and occasionally redness at the insertion site of an intravenous catheter; usually affects hospitalized patients
• Deep tissue abscess and infection: Muscles and organs can become infected, including the parotid gland (salivary gland), eyes, liver, spleen, kidneys, and central nervous system; deep abscesses also may occur; fever with or without localizing pain is typical.
  (culled from medscape.com with slight modification)
  
  
  The more serious infections occur when the skin is breached and the organism finds its way into the blood. Other means of hematogenous infection is seen in drug addicts who constantly inject themselves. It can also be hospital-acquired as in the case of pneumonia, especially, MRSA. In immunocompromised, it can assume life-threatening dimensions.  Additionally, toxins from Staph aureus can also cause food poisoning which is an intoxication seen some three hours after consuming food contaminated with the organism. Whether, the food is cooked or not, it does not stop the diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and other symptoms associated with the intoxication from occurring.
  
  

    What Actually Went Wrong? Why This Misconception?

   

  From the foregoing discussion, one can see vividly that Staphylococus aureus is never considered as a causative agent for sexually transmitted disease. The Centres for Disease Control has never documented such. However, there have been few documentations by some researchers that MRSA which was reportedly isolated from gay men in San Francisco, USA in 2008, was a cause of STD. The claim was refuted when they were not able to establish whether MRSA is transmitted via anal, oral or vaginal intercourse, even though we know that it is transmitted through skin to skin contact during sex.
  
  Nonetheless, I still cannot understand why S. aureus is hyped as the causative agent for the deadliest STD in Nigeria. The media has done more damage to this issue by blowing the prevalence of this "STD" out of proportions. Thanks to them; Staph infection is now the deadliest, incurable STD in Nigeria. It is a household name. Some dubious individuals are making fortune for themselves by treating Staph infection. Every road-side "laboratory", native doctor, trado-medical practitioner, and "nurse-Eliza" across the country is now busy treating Staph. Sure, there are always accompanying  gonorrhoea and syphilis. It goes by other names like toilet infection; and has an unending litany of clinical presentations. Some of the purported symptoms include: itchiness in the "private part", noisy stomach, skin rashes, frequent urination, hotness of body, headache & "malaria/typhoid", waist pain, vaginal discharge, moving sensation round the body, painful sexual intercourse, loss of sexual urge, zero sperm count, watery sperm, etc. The list is endless and sometimes whimsically funny.
  
  

  Cracking the Enigma.

   

  A mon avis, I would say that the slight laboratory error that later escalated into the widespread misconception that Staph causes an almost incurable form of STD must have started as a mere contaminant in a culture medium. Maybe a high vaginal swab or a penile discharge was not taken "cleanly". By this I mean that the skin was swiped while taking the sample. Knowing fully well that Staph aureus is found on the skin of about half of the population, by so doing, it finds its way into the culture medium. The organism was later extracted from the medium. Par hazard, whatever organism that was causing the infection ab initio was poorly treated or there might have been a re-infection which led to the persistence of symptoms and subsequent request for another culture. The sample must have been collected the same way as in the previous case and Staph aureus was again extracted from the medium. Assuming this vicious cycle had been repeated over and over again which led to the believe that Staph aureus is actually the cause of STD and it does not respond to orthodox medicine.
  
  Whatever be the genesis of this widespread misconception, the dawn of awakening is here. I am here to bring to the notice of the general populace that Staph aureus does not cause STD, at least not in the manner we thought (bearing MRSA in mind). So we should stop patronizing quacks who are hell-bent in sapping us of our hard-earned money. Desist from living in the perpetual, self-destructive notion that S. aureus causes STD.
  
   Whenever you are faced with such symptoms, see your doctor. There are organisms that cause PID/STDs with grave consequence if left untreated or poorly treated. Have it at the back of your mind that complications from these infections can cause sub-fertility, affecting your reproductive health. Always consult your doctor. He knows what is best for you under any circumstance. Remember the foolhardiness of penny wise, pound foolish. The couple of bucks you saved yourself today by avoiding going to a hospital to get adequate care and, instead patronize quacks, will not suffice to manage the complications that are bound to follow such decisions. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Take good care of yourself.