Everything you need to know about the ‘new’ sexually transmitted disease – See this now!

What symptoms does it cause?

In men, the bacteria can cause inflammation of the urethra (called urethritis) that leads to symptoms such as a burning pain while urinating or discharge from the penis.

Whether M. genitalium causes disease in women is less clear, but the bacteria have been linked to inflammation of the cervix (cervicitis), as well as pelvic inflammatory disease, an infection of the female reproductive organs that can lead to pain in the lower abdomen and pain or bleeding during sex, according to the CDC. In severe cases, pelvic inflammatory disease can lead to infertility in women.

“Most of the research that’s going on now is trying to better understand the implications of [M. genitalium] infection in women,” Manhart said. A recent review study by Manhart and colleagues found that the risk of inflammation of the cervix, pelvic inflammatory disease and preterm birth was about twice as high in women with M. genitalium infection, compared to women without the infection. Still, some researchers want to see more evidence before concluding that M. genitalium does cause complications in women, Manhartsaid.

The new study in the International Journal of Epidemiology found that about 94 percent of men and 56 percent of women infected with M. genitalium did not have symptoms.