The Special Pathogens Branch, part of The Division of Viral and Rickettsial
Diseases, deals with some of the really
nasty stuff -
diseases like Ebola, Rift Valley fever, and Lassa fever (and before you ask, a Rickettsial
disease is one caused by any Rickettsia bacteria, which are carried by parasites
such as ticks, fleas and lice, and cause
diseases such as typhus).
The bacteria that cause gonorrhea are evolving faster than we can develop effective antibiotics against them, and a return to the era of untreatable gonorrhea could see a rise in the particularly
nasty complications that arise from a long - term gonorrheal infection,
such as pelvic inflammatory
disease and epididymitis.