STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) and STIs (sexual transmitted infections), a lingering threat lurking below the surface of the deep and vast oceans of life.  

Donovanosis is another addition to the growing list of STIs and STDs, although it originally seemed that cases of the STI were present only in India, South Africa, and South America with minimal cases in the United States. Sadly, during the final week of October, the United Kingdom had a resurgence of cases reported, giving it more attention.  

“People are embarrassed if they have, a lot of times so they don’t go around telling people because they don’t want you to know,” science teacher Mrs. Karen Tripp said  

The Fear that once gripped the hearts of citizens back in June of 1981 when the AIDs (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) epidemic first emerged in the United States had precautions being thrown over children and young adults. These precautions have lost their extreme strictness due to treatment being made more accessible.  

“I think it is more common than what people think, and people are embarrassed if they have it,” Mrs. Tripp said 

Young adults are always at risk of receiving an STI or STD. Sometimes they might even contact one of the many viruses and that leads to a very disturbing turn in their life, with the world around them becoming very warped and scary.  

“A lot of times if somebody gets an STI or STD, they think that people think they are dirty or promiscuous and it doesn’t mean that,” Mrs. Tripp said 

October’s final week saw the resurgence of this STI, and cases spread around the population of the UK. The once rare disease first began to emerge back in 2019 with 30 cases being found. Further research reveals that it is like the other viruses and bacterias it can be treated.  

“I mean, it is a bacterial infection. So right now, they treat it with antibiotics or the ones that they use for stronger bacteria. It is gram-negative bacteria, which means that it is harder to kill,” Mrs. Tripp said 

The virus can be transmitted through many ways and childbirth by the mother and skin-on-skin contact. The effects of this virus are disturbing but familiar. 

“But I was reading about how it can be susceptible, so when you have a bacterial infection, you become weakened, your immune system becomes weakened. There’s always the chance of having a virus or bacteria entering your body and causing issues,” Mrs. Tripp said 

Donovanosis may seem like another variation of STDs or STI, but it does not change the turmoil caused with the infection resurging in the UK and leaving its original areas where it first rose and became known to the world.  

“It was started in other parts of the world, but it was predominantly in South Africa, South America, India, so like subtropical areas,” Mrs. Tripp said 

The UK was breached by this STI once and it returned to terrorize citizens, the fact that it is so transmittable means it could breach the United States and begin to spread like wildfire, and mutate, especially in time where most people are begging for human interaction and intimacy.  

“Like bacterias, they could mutate just like a virus can, just like any other living organism, they want to survive, and it could become worse,” Ms. Tripp said 

Donovanosis, just like other STIs and viruses affect the genitals of its victim. Slowly it begins to create lesions and ulcers that spread across the area of the genitals. The ulcers and lesions are highly vascular and over time will begin to bleed, it can and will spread to the pelvis and will disseminate into intra—abdominal organs, bones, and the mouth.   

“I feel uncomfortable hearing about the symptoms of donovanosis, it sounds incredibly painful, I do not even want to imagine how bad a person with the STI must feel in their day to day,” Senior Jakob Hilp Rojas said. 

Even worse, Donovanosis can extend further into four types. Ulcerogranulomatous, which seems to follow the symptoms of the normal donovanosis, with ulcers appearing within the skin with grainy and beefy red marks that bleed easily.  

“If they bleed easily then I cannot imagine how embarrassing it would be in public, with how much it could bleed,” Jakob said. 

Hypertrophic, with symptoms that leave uneven borders on the skin and make them dry and irritable and Necrotic ulcers whose symptoms make the ulcer dig into the skin and create a foul stench and make the infected area extremely sensitive and painful and on the opposite side of hypertrophic, Fibrous ulcers that act like painless scarred tissue.  

“That sounds painful, and the smell makes it even worse, it must be hard to wash yourself if they bury deep in your skin with a foul stench,” Jakob said. 

Symptoms of this terrifying STI usually appear on the body around 1 to 4 weeks after being infected. It can diagnose by finding sores and lesions of the genital area. Regardless of whether its donovanosis or the other various diseases and bacterial infections, an STI and STD are a terror like no other, a boogey man for all people of different ages. 

“I believe that this is not only a physical issue but also a mental issue because both men and women suffer from society’s assumptions and ideas about people who unfortunately contracted it, it is honestly sad,” Jakob shared.