STD: Bacterial

Summary of Bacterial STDs

There are five major groups of organisms that cause human infectious disease, including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, helminthes, and viruses. Bacteria are extracellular organisms that replicate by binary fission and belong to the prokaryotic kingdom.

Most bacterial STDs are responsive to treatment with antibiotics, and are therefore considered "curable." However, remember that some bacterial STDs are not eradicated before they cause permanent physical damage. Also, bacteria have the ability to develop resistance to certain antibiotic therapies. Therefore, as with all STDs, prevention against bacterial STDs is the best strategy toward dealing with them.

This section will discuss the four most prominent bacterial STDs: gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis and chancroid.