Gonorrhea: General Information
Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is caused by the Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacterium. In infected individuals it is typically located in the mucous membranes of the reproductive tracts, but can also be found in the rectum, throat, mouth, and eyes. The disease can also be transmitted during pregnancy if the child acquires it while passing through the birth canal. (1)
There are different signs and symptoms between males and females. In males there is typically a white, yellow, or green discharge and possible scrotal pain one to fourteen days after infection. In women, symptoms may be mistaken for other urinary or vaginal issues. Typically there is increased vaginal discharge and/or bleeding. Untreated gonorrhea can cause serious complications in men and women. In men, the infection can spread and possibly cause infertility. In females, the spread of gonorrhea can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease. (1) Pelvic inflammatory disease is an infection in the female reproductive organs most commonly seen with a bacterial infection such as gonorrhea. There are not any noticeable signs or symptoms, so most women will not find out they have it until they try to become pregnant. (4) The most life threatening issue can occur in either men or women in which the disease spreads to the blood causing disseminated gonococcal infection. (1) Gonorrhea is an infectious disease that is easily diagnosed and treated. Testing can easily be done for both men and women through urine, urethral (men), or vaginal (female) swabs. (1) This is done through nucleic acid amplification (NAA), which has been available since the early 1990’s. This technique can be used to detect a specific pathogen that is blood or other bodily fluids. This test can give false positives, but using this test along with observing symptoms can help detect the disease. (2) Treatment of the disease currently utilizes two drugs simultaneously. The two drugs used to treat gonorrhea currently are azithromyacin and ceftriaxone. All others treatments have been shown to have little to no effect. Early detection is important because the treatment can stop the infection, but any damage done by the infection cannot be repaired. One issue with the treatment of the disease is the advent of antibiotic resistant gonorrhea strains. |
Gonorrhea: Historical and Modern Rise
There is an estimated 60 million new cases of gonorrhea annually. (2) The CDC estimates that there are 820,000 new infections of gonorrhea each year in the United States and only about half are reported. Of those 820,000 new infections, it is estimated that 520,000 of them are between the ages of 15-24. In 2016, 468,514 cases were reported to the CDC. (1) This number has increased significantly from the reported 335,104 cases in the United States reported in 2003. (2) There has been an important observable increase in the antibiotic resistance of gonorrhea since the 1980s. Gonorrhea has consistently become resistant to the antibiotics that have been used to treat it which has caused an increase in the number of cases of the disease. There are becoming fewer options that are simple, effective, and well-studied. (3) |
References
- Center for Disease Control. Gonorrhea- CDC Fact Sheet. Updated September 26, 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/std/gonorrhea/stdfact-gonorrhea-detailed.htm
- David M. Whiley, John W. Tapsall, Theo P. Sloots. Nucleic Acid Amplification for Neisseria gonorrhoeae: An Ongoing Challenge. The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics. February 8, 2006. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1871692/
- Center for Disease Control. Antibiotic Resistant Gonorrhea. Updated February 15, 2018. https://www.cdc.gov/std/gonorrhea/arg/default.htm
- Mayo Clinic. Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. Updated March 6, 2018. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pelvic-inflammatory-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20352594