Condoms prevent infection by Mycoplasma genitalium Andrew Brookes/getty

An emerging sexually transmitted infection that you’ve probably never heard of “could become the next superbug”, according to recent headlines. What exactly is Mycoplasma genitalium, and how worried should we be?

M. genitalium is small bacteria that was first identified in 1981, and at that time it was unclear if it was a STI. Its true nature was only definitively confirmed in 2015 by a large UK survey of people aged 16-45 which found the infection was more common in those who had had more partners or unprotected sex.

One …