“As a result of antibiotic therapy,” pronounced Dr. John F. Mahoney in 1949, “gonorrhea has almost passed from the scene as an important clinical and public health entity.” These words typified the faith the medical profession​—and the public at large—​bestowed upon the new wonder drugs such as penicillin. Convinced that science had dealt STD a deathblow, many doctors simply lost interest in studying it. In Central and West Africa UN-sponsored programs to eradicate syphilis and other related diseases seemed so effective that officials even relaxed their surveillance activities.