Gonorrhea

Gonorrhea is one of the world’s most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases. It is caused by the neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria which can infect the urethral tract in men and the urogenital tract in women. The bacterium requires warm, moist environments in order to develop and reproduce, making the female genitalia and urethra (that of both women and men) ideal locations. However, the infection can also appear in other sites such as the mouth, throat, eyes and rectum.

Description

Gonorrhea can sometimes cause very few symptoms, which makes diagnosis more difficult and makes it much easier for the disease to be spread undetected. If left untreated, gonorrhea can have serious consequences. In women, gonorrhea can damage the fallopian tubes which can cause infertility, and can increase the risk of ectopic pregnancies. In men, it can go so far as to cause epididymitis, an inflammation that can lead to infertility if left untreated.

Causes

Infection occurs through unprotected sexual intercourse – vaginal, oral or anal – with an infected partner. The infection can also be transmitted from mother to child during childbirth.

Symptoms

Gonorrhea is often asymptomatic, especially in women. When symptoms do occur, they are usually mild and difficult to distinguish from other infections affecting the vagina or bladder. Although symptoms often appear as mild, complications, however, can be very serious and can even lead to infertility.
When present, symptoms of gonorrhea in women include:

• burning during urination
• increased vaginal discharge
• bleeding between menstrual periods

In men, symptoms can appear anywhere from between two and thirty days after infection, and include:

• burning during urination
• secretion from the urethra that is usually white, yellow or green in colour

pain or swelling of the testicles.
Rectal infections of gonorrhea are usually asymptomatic but may cause the following symptoms in both men and women:

• discharge
• anal itching
• bleeding
• painful bowel movements

Diagnosis

As gonorrhea is often asymptomatic, laboratory tests must be conducted in order to make a diagnosis. To do so, swab samples are taken from the most frequently infected parts of the body (cervix, urethra, rectum, pharynx) for testing. Urine testing may also be administered, as it can diagnose gonorrhea in the cervix or the urethra.
The test samples may then be analyzed under a microscope or as a cultural examination within a laboratory.
A diagnosis of gonorrhea is generally easier to make in men than it is women.

Treatment

As gonorrhea is a bacterial infection, it is treated with antibiotics. For maximum results, antibiotics that concentrate in the urine are used. In recent years, the gonorrhea-causing gonococcus bacteria has become resistant to many antibiotics, so an antibiogram is often used to select the most suitable antibiotic.

Prevention

To prevent gonorrhea infection:

• avoid casual sexual intercourse
• avoid sexual intercourse with infected partners
• have protected sexual intercourse
• use condoms correctly