STD's+Gonorrhea

**Gonorrhea** Author: Jenny Foster

 **Date: 5-18-2010** **Abstract:** Gonorrhea is the second most common sexual transmitted disease. This disease targets sexually active people, and in most cases those who are infected don’t even have symptoms. The symptoms for men and women have some similarities and differences, but in both cases if left untreated this can lead to infertility. If symptoms do arise, then it is best to avoid sex and go to a doctor. Unfortunately, the bacterium that causes gonorrhea, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, develops resistance for the antibiotic very quickly. Currently there are drugs that are being used to cure gonorrhea, but there are signs of resistance. To avoid getting gonorrhea, it is best to avoid all sexual contact.

**Introduction:** Also known, as “clap” or “drip” gonorrhea is one of the most contagious diseases transmitted through sexual contact. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, every year in the US gonorrhea infects more than 700,000 new people. What caught my interest is that according to the CDC (center for disease control) only half of these cases are reported, this is because some people who are infected don’t even have any signs of symptoms at all. What also captured my interest is that author Jennifer Warner mentions in the article titled //Gonorrhea Getting Harder to Treat// that although antibiotics can cure gonorrhea that is present in adolescents and young adults, more drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea are increasing in many areas of the world, this also including the US. Thus treatment of this sexual transmitted disease is becoming more difficult.


 * Discussion: **

In the microbiology textbooks it states that gonorrhea is caused by the bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which is gram-negative diplococcus. As mentioned earlier, the causes of gonorrhea is sexual contact and it cal also be spread from mother to baby during birth. Gonorrhea targets sexually active people, but according to statistics the highest rates of gonorrhea are among sexually active teenagers, impoverished people living in urban areas and Southern states, African Americans, and Drug users. Gonorrhea infects warm, moist areas of the reproductive tract. In women this area includes the cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes and the urethra. In men this area includes the urethra as well. According the CDC gonorrhea also can grow in the mouth, throat, eyes and the anus.
 * Targets of Gonorrhea: **

Some men who do have gonorrhea don’t have any signs at all. For those who do have signs, these appear two to five days after they have been infected, but in some cases it can take up to 30 days for symptoms to appear. The symptoms that men usually undergo are: a burning sensation while urinating, or a white, yellow or green discharge from the penis. In some cases, men who have gonorrhea get painful or swollen testicles. If this infection is not treated in men, then this could lead to epididymitis, which is a painful condition of the ducts attached to the testicles that may lead to infertility if left untreated. For women who are infected with gonorrhea, most of the time they have no symptoms. But when they do have symptoms, they are often mild, and sometimes are mistaken for a bladder of vaginal infection. Symptoms include: painful or burning sensation when urinating increased vaginal discharge, or vaginal bleeding between periods. If left untreated women with gonorrhea can develop pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Each year in the US about one million women develop PID. The symptoms of PID can be mild or quite severe. Symptoms include: abdominal pain and fever, internal abscesses (pus-filled pockets that are hard to cure) and chronic pelvic pain. PID can damage the fallopian tubes enough to cause infertility. In both men and women, symptoms of rectal infection include: discharge, anal itching, soreness, bleeding, or painful bowel movements. Infections in the throat can cause a sore throat, but usually those who are infected in this area have no symptoms at all. For both men and women if gonorrhea is not treated, then it can spread to the blood or even the joints, this being life threatening. Lastly, those with gonorrhea can become infected more easily with HIV.
 * Symptoms: **

As mentioned earlier, sometimes those who are infected don’t even show any signs of having gonorrhea. But, even if you don’t show any signs, you can still be tested and treated. A doctor or even a nurse can obtain a sample from parts of the body that are likely to be infected, this sample can be tested by being sent to the laboratory for analysis. In some cases, if gonorrhea is present in the cervix or the urethra it can be diagnosed in the laboratory by testing a urine sample. A quick laboratory test that can be done is the Gram Stain. A Gram Stain from the cervix or the Urethra allows the doctor to view the bacterium under the microscope.
 * Being Tested: **

Most of the time many people who have gonorrhea also have Chlamydia, so if a person is being treated then antibiotics for both diseases are given together. According to Jennifer Warner “choosing an effective antibiotic can be a challenge because the organism that causes gonorrhea is very versatile and develops resistance to antibiotics very quickly.” Before, penicillin was used for many years but eventually it became no longer effective so now a number of other antibiotics are used. Currently the drugs of choice are ceftriaxone and cefixime because they are effective, but there are signs of resistance, especially to cefixime, and eventually these drugs may no longer be effective in curing gonorrhea.
 * Antibiotics: **

The surest way to avoid getting infected with gonorrhea or transmitting it is to not have sex at all, or to be in a long-term relationship with a partner who has been tested and is known to not have gonorrhea. Using latex condoms consistently can help reduce the risk of transmitting the disease. Any genital symptoms such as burning while urinating or an unusual rash should not be ignored, but a signal to stop having sex and notify a doctor as soon as possible. If a person has been diagnosed with gonorrhea, they should avoid having sex until they have completed their treatment for gonorrhea.
 * Prevention: **

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance, 2006. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, November 2007.
 * Bibliography: ** (Literature Cited?)

Cornforth, T. //Gonorrhea-Symptoms-Treatments-Prevention//, 2009. About.com:Women’s Health.

Hook EW III and Handsfield HH. //Gonococcal infections in the adult//. In: K. Holmes, P. Sparling, P. Markh et al (eds). Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 3rd Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999, 451-466.

Tortora, G. Funke, B. Case, C. 2010. //Microbiology: An Introduction//. Person Benjamin Cummings, Inc, San Fransisco, p. 747.

Warner, J. //Gonorrhea Getting Harder To Treat: Antibiotic Resistance Pushing Gonorrhea Toward Superbug Status//, 2010. WebMD Health.

Weinstock H, Berman S, Cates W. //Sexually transmitted disease among American youth: Incidence and prevalence estimates,// 2000. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 2004; 36: 6-10.

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