Gonorrhea Soaring in Australia

Over the last five years, the sexually transmitted infection (STI) gonorrhea has increased by 63 percent among Australians living primarily in cities. Gonorrhea has no visible symptoms in 80 percent of cases and can lead to sterility. Australian researchers note that the majority (75 percent) of new cases erupt among heterosexual young people aged 20-29 (BBC, November 6, 2017). STI rates are also at a record high in the USA (Jewish World Review, November 3, 2017). The World Health Organization suspects that a possible culprit behind rising rates of gonorrhea and other STIs may be a reduced concern of HIV infection and a subsequent drop in condom use among the sexually active (BBC, July 7, 2017). Gonorrhea is one of the STIs that is developing antibiotic resistance.

Long ago, God promised that if His people would live according to His laws and “do what is right,” they would not be afflicted by common diseases (Exodus 15:26). Public health professionals have long known how to prevent STIs like gonorrhea and even HIV/AIDS. The simple solution is to confine sexual activity to a marriage between one man and one woman—and this is the exact prescription found in the Bible! For more practical ways to avoid contracting disease, read “Defeating Disease: How the Bible Can Help.”