Gonorrhea | |
---|---|
Other names | Gonorrhoea, gonococcal infection, gonococcal urethritis, the clap |
![]() | |
Gonococcal lesion on the skin | |
Pronunciation | |
Specialty | Infectious disease |
Symptoms | None, burning with urination, vaginal discharge, discharge from the penis, pelvic pain, testicular pain[1] |
Complications | Pelvic inflammatory disease, inflammation of the epididymis, septic arthritis, endocarditis[1][2] |
Causes | Neisseria gonorrhoeae typically sexually transmitted[1] |
Diagnostic method | Testing the urine, urethra in males, or cervix in females[1] |
Prevention | Condoms, having sex with only one person who is uninfected, not having sex[1][3] |
Treatment | Ceftriaxone by injection and azithromycin by mouth[4][5] |
Frequency | 0.8% (women), 0.6% (men)[6] |
Gonorrhoea or gonorrhea, colloquially known as the clap, is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae.[1] Infection may involve the genitals, mouth, or rectum.[7] Infected men may experience pain or burning with urination, discharge from the penis, or testicular pain.[1] Infected women may experience burning with urination, vaginal discharge, vaginal bleeding between periods, or pelvic pain.[1] Complications in women include pelvic inflammatory disease and in men include inflammation of the epididymis.[1] Many of those infected, however, have no symptoms.[1] If untreated, gonorrhea can spread to joints or heart valves.[1][2]
Gonorrhea is spread through sexual contact with an infected person.[1] This includes oral, anal, and vaginal sex.[1] It can also spread from a mother to a child during birth.[1] Diagnosis is by testing the urine, urethra in males, or cervix in females.[1] Testing all women who are sexually active and less than 25 years of age each year as well as those with new sexual partners is recommended;[3] the same recommendation applies in men who have sex with men (MSM).[3]
Gonorrhea can be prevented with the use of condoms, having sex with only one person who is uninfected, and by not having sex.[1][3] Treatment is usually with ceftriaxone by injection and azithromycin by mouth.[4][5] Resistance has developed to many previously used antibiotics and higher doses of ceftriaxone are occasionally required.[4][5] Retesting is recommended three months after treatment.[3] Sexual partners from the last two months should also be offered treatment.[1]
Gonorrhea affects about 0.8% of women and 0.6% of men.[6] An estimated 33 to 106 million new cases occur each year, out of the 498 million new cases of curable STI – which also includes syphilis, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis.[8][9] Infections in women most commonly occur when they are young adults.[3] In 2015, it caused about 700 deaths.[10] Descriptions of the disease date back to before the Common Era within the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (Leviticus 15:2–3).[2][dubious – discuss]. The current name was first used by the Greek physician Galen before AD 200 who referred to it as "an unwanted discharge of semen".[2]