Introduction

Gonorrhea is one of the most common and oldest known sexually transmitted

diseases (STDs). It causes urethritis, cervicitis, epididymitis, pharyngitis, proctitis, and

pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and can spread throughout the body to cause both

localized and disseminated disease. Most commonly, the term gonorrhea refers to

urethritis and/or cervicitis in a sexually active person.

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease. It is most common in young adults.

Gonorrhea is caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae , a bacterium that can grow and multiply

easily in the warm, moist areas of the reproductive tract, including the cervix , uterus ,

and fallopian tubes in women, and in the urethra in women and men. the highest

reported rates of infection are among sexually active teenagers, young adults, and

African Americans. The bacterium can also grow in the mouth, throat, eyes, and anus.

This sexually transmitted disease is spread through contact with an infected vagina,

penis, anus, or mouth. It is spread through semen or vaginal fluids during unprotected

sexual contact with a partner who has it. Touching infected sex organs, like the vagina

or penis, and then touching your eyes can cause an eye infection. It cannot be passed

by shaking hands or sitting on a toilet seat. Gonorrhea can also be passed from a

pregnant woman to her baby during the birth process through a vaginal delivery. In

babies, gonorrhea infection may cause blindness, joint infection, or a life threatening

blood infection. Gonococcal infections following sexual and perinatal transmission are a

major source of morbidity worldwide. In the developed world, where prophylaxis for

neonatal eye infection is standard, the vast majority of infections follow genitourinary

mucosal exposure. More serious clinical syndromes may follow, with ascending
involvement of the reproductive tract or systemic spread. Infection is due to N

gonorrhoeae a highly infectious gram-negative diplococcal organism. http://www.health-

care-guide.org/gonorrhea.htm

Gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported infectious disease in the

United States, after chlamydia. Actual incidence is difficult to determine due to high

rates of asymptomatic carriage, as well as underreporting; however, in 2007, 355,991

cases were reported in the United States. The national average is 118.9 cases per

100,000 populations, with considerable state-to-state variation. The rate is continuing to

rise from 2004, when it was at its lowest level since 1941. The estimate of total cases is

approximately 700,000 cases per year. In children who have been sexually abused,

rates of recovery of gonorrhea range from 1-30%. In female adolescents who are

sexually active, asymptomatic carriage of gonorrhea occurs in 1-5%.

Within the United States, carriage rates highly depend on the geographical area,

the racial and ethnic group, and sexual preferences.

The South-Eastern States have the highest rates of infection; the rates in the

Midwest and northeast are much lower. Rates of infection range from about 285.7

cases per 100,000 populations in Mississippi to 8.9 cases per 100,000 populations in

Maine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a campaign

(Healthy People 2010) that targets an incidence rate of 19 cases per 100,000

populations. North Dakota, Maine, Vermont, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Montana, and

Idaho are the only states currently exceeding that target, along with Puerto Rico.

When untreated, gonorrhea may progress locally to cause PID in females,

epididymitis and orchitis in males, and sterility in both sexes. It can also spread to cause
septic arthritis, perihepatitis (Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome), and disseminated gonococcal

infection (DGI). In newborns, vertical transmission can cause conjunctivitis, known as

ophthalmia neonatorum, and blindness, if untreated. Oral sex with an infected partner

can result in pharyngitis, and, similarly, anal infection can arise from anal sex or local

spread from a vaginal source. PID often causes decreased fertility and can lead to tubo-

ovarian abscess and, rarely, tubal perforation with peritonitis and death, especially if

recurrent. Females with recurrent PID have high rates of ectopic pregnancy and

infertility approximately 8% after 1 episode, 20% after 2 episodes, and 40% after 3 or

more episodes. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/964220-overview

According to the University of Michigan Health System’s (UMHS) new research,

men who have had gonorrhea are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Multiple sexual partners and history of gonorrhea are seen as risks for prostate cancer.

Having more than 25 lifetime sexual partners also increases odds of prostate cancer, by

more than 2.5 times that of men with five or fewer sexual partners, the study found. The

conclusions are part of the Flint Men's Health Study, a population-based study of black

men ages 40-79 who live in Flint, Michigan The Flint Men's Health Study looked at

African-American men as part of an effort to determine why black men are twice as

likely as white men to develop prostate cancer and twice as likely to die from the

disease.http://www.thenewstoday.info/2009/02/19/promiscuity.gonorrhea.are.risks.for.prostate.cancer.in
.men.study.html