Gonorrhea

What Is It?

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is caused by bacteria called Neisseria gonorrhoeae. These bacteria can be passed from person to person during sexual activity (vaginal, oral and anal intercourse) leading to infections of the cervix, vagina and urethra (urine tube). If untreated, these gonorrhea infections can spread to higher portions of the reproductive tract, causing prostatitis (prostate inflammation) and epididymo-orchitis (inflammation of the epididymis and testes) in men, and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in women.

Gonorrhea also can cause gonococcal proctitis (inflammation of the anus and rectum), especially in people who practice anal intercourse. In people who practice oral sex, it may infect the throat, causing gonococcal pharyngitis.

Less commonly, gonorrhea can spread to other parts of the body through the bloodstream, causing fever, a characteristic rash and arthritis. In pregnant women with untreated gonorrhea, bacteria may spread to the eyes of their babies during childbirth, causing gonococcal ophthalmia, a severe eye infection in newborns.

Approximately 700,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with gonorrhea each year, but because many people with gonorrhea do not seek treatment, the total number of cases may be much higher.

Symptoms

Many people who are infected with gonorrhea will not have any symptoms. Women are more likely not to have symptoms than men. When the disease causes symptoms, they usually develop within 10 days after sexual intercourse with an infected person. Men may develop a discharge from the urethra (the opening at the end of the penis where urine comes out), redness around the urethra, frequent urination and pain or a burning discomfort during urination. Women may develop pain or discomfort on urination, frequent urination, a vaginal discharge and discomfort in the anal or rectal area. In at least 15% of women, the bacteria will spread to the uterus and fallopian tubes, causing pain during intercourse, abdominal pain, abnormal menstrual bleeding and fever. In cases of gonococcal pharyngitis, there may not be any symptoms or the person may have a sore throat.

Many people with gonococcal proctitis don't have any symptoms. When symptoms occur, they commonly include rectal pain or itching, a rectal discharge that contains blood, mucus, pus or a persistent urge to move the bowels. If gonorrhea spreads through the bloodstream, it may cause fever, pain and swelling in several joints, and a characteristic rash.

In newborns infected with gonococcal ophthalmia, symptoms appear one to four days after birth and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms include redness of the eyes, swelling of the eyelids, and an eye discharge that is thick and contains pus. If untreated, gonococcal ophthalmia can cause blindness.