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Gonorrhea

What is Gonorrhea?

Gonorrhea is a common sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
Gonorrhea is a very common infectious disease. It is estimated that approximately 700,000 people in the United States are infected by gonorrhea each year. Only about ½ of these infections are reported to CDC. In 2002, 351,852 cases of gonorrhea were reported to CDC. In the period from 1975 to 1997, the national gonorrhea rate declined, following the implementation of the national gonorrhea control program in the mid-1970s. After a small increase in 1998, the gonorrhea rate has decreased slightly since 1999. In 2002, the rate of reported gonorrhea infections was 125.0 per 100,000 persons.

Transmission

Vaginal, oral, or anal sex.
Infected mother to her newborn during vaginal childbirth.

Signs & Symptoms
In males, symptoms usually appear 2 to 5 days after infection, but it can take as long as 30 days for symptoms to begin.
Men:

Yellowish white discharge from the penis.
Burning sensation when urinating.
Pain and swelling in the testicles.

Women:

Many women who are infected have no symptoms of infection.
Painful or burning sensation when urinating.
Vaginal discharge that is yellow or occasionally bloody.

Rectal Infection:

Anal itching.
Soreness.
Bleeding.
Painful bowel movements.

Complications
Gonorrhea can spread to the blood or joints. This condition can be life-threatening.
Men:

Epididymitis, a painful condition of the testicles.
Infertility.
Scarring inside urethra, causing difficult urination.
Prostate problems.
More easily contract HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Women:

Irreversible damage to a woman's reproductive organs.
Infertility.
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID).
Women infected with Chlamydia may also have higher risk of acquiring HIV infection from an infected partner.
More easily contract HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Pregnancy:

Can cause Ectopic pregnancy, a life-threatening condition in which a fertilized egg grows outside the uterus, usually in a fallopian tube.
Persons with HIV infection and gonorrhea are more likely than persons with HIV infection alone to transmit HIV to someone else.

Diagnosis
A health care provider must perform a laboratory test.

Collection of a specimen from an infected site (cervix or penis) to detect the bacterium directly.
Urine test.

Treatment

Treated with antibiotics.
Drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea are increasing in many areas of the world, including the United States, and successful treatment of gonorrhea is becoming more difficult.
All sex partners must also be treated.

Prevention

Use latex or polyurethane condoms correctly every time you have sex.
Condoms do not provide complete protection from all STDs. Sores and lesions of other STDs in infected men and women may be present in areas not covered by the condom, resulting in transmission of infection to another person.
Limit the number of sex partners.
Practice sexual abstinence, or limit sexual contact to one uninfected partner.

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