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Topics: Health, Sex and Relationships, US News, Alaska
Ella Scott
Topics: Health, Sex and Relationships, US News, Alaska
Alaskan residents have been warned they may be at risk of developing a ‘rare but severe’ strain of gonorrhea amid a woman’s death at the hands of the sexually transmitted infection (STI).
Officials from the State of Alaska Epidemiology unit have confirmed that an unnamed woman in her 50s died earlier this year from disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI).
According to a bulletin released on June 30, the woman presented herself to an Anchorage emergency health department in respiratory distress in the spring.
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Respiratory distress occurs when lung swelling causes fluid to build up in tiny elastic air sacs in the lungs, the Mayo Clinic states. Symptoms include rapid breathing and bluish skin coloration.
Upon arrival in the medical room, the woman was soon diagnosed with septic shock and heart failure secondary to endocarditis.
After being subjected to various tests, it was confirmed that the anonymous person was suffering from Neisseria gonorrhoea bacterium and had positive mucosal tests at multiple sites.
The bulletin states that in the six months before making her way to the medical room, she had two healthcare visits related to opioid use disorder. There was no record of GC testing in the year prior to her illness, the legislation reported.
As the Alaskan’s STI was left untreated for an unknown period of time, it had invaded her bloodstream from various infected mucosal sites.
This caused the STI to spread to distant sites in the body, causing her to suffer from DGI.
The California Department of Public Health defines DGI as an ‘uncommon, but severe, complication of untreated gonorrhea’.
DGI can lead to a multitude of clinical manifestations, including bacteremia, meningitis and, in rare cases, endocarditis.
DGI is ‘uncommon’ and is thought to occur in just 0.5 percent of all gonorrhoea cases. However, following the woman’s death, Anchorage residents are being warned that their health could be at risk.
The bulletin has urged people living in the city who have recently embarked on a relationship with a new sexual partner, have more than one sexual partner, or a partner with multiple partners themselves, to remain vigilant, as all may be at risk of acquiring the fatal strain of gonorrhoea.
“While no specific network has been identified, the strain may be circulating more broadly among persons with gonorrhea infection in Southcentral Alaska,” the bulletin added.
There have been eight cases of DGI reported between January and May 2025 in Alaska, five of which were women.
It’s said all patients were evaluated in Anchorage, and that only three of the eight had a history of a previously diagnosed sexually transmitted infection.
Despite the number of DGI sufferers in the area, the bulletin states that an epidemiological investigation ‘did not establish connections between any of the DGI cases’.
However, some risk factors identified through a medical records review included methamphetamine, opioid and alcohol use disorder.
“What we're seeing is that there's not just one group of people who's at risk,” sais Dr. Liz Ohlsen, a staff physician with the state Division of Public Health.
“Instead, it's more sexually active people who have multiple partners, or whose partner has multiple partners.”
A myriad of symptoms commonly occur with DGI, including fever or chills, swelling of the joints, and pain in the tendons of the wrists or heels, Healthline reports.
Other symptoms include skin rashes and feeling ill or generally unwell.
If you start to develop any of these symptoms, it’s advised that you seek medical attention immediately.