Gonorrhea is a Sexually Transmitted disease caused by a microorganism called Neisseria gonorrhoeae otherwise known as gonococcus. Individuals become infected when their genitals come in contact with penile or vaginal discharge during intercourse or other sexual activities.The disease is the second most commonly reported bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the United States after Chlamydia, it affects about 0.6% of men and 0.8% of women globally. Annually, between 33 to 106 million new cases of Gonorrhea occur out of the estimated 498 million new cases of curable sexually transmitted infections recorded worldwide. The organism grow and multiply easily in warm, moist areas of the reproductive tract, including cervix, fallopian tubes and uterus in women while in men, it grows in the urethra . As gonorrhea spreads into the uterus and the fallopian tubes, the disease can result in pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) If left untreated, the disease can lead to major health complications.
What Does Gonorrhea Look Like
Albert Ludwig Sigesmund Neisser a German physician discovered the pathogen gonorrhea in 1879 during his two years working as an assistant of the dermatologist Oskar Simon. Neisseria gonorrhoeae are gram-negative cocci frequently found in “polymorphonuclear leukocytes” of the gonorrhea pustular exudates. They are usually seen in pairs with the adjacent sides flattened, it possesses fimbriae which play a major role in adherence by extending several micrometers from the cell surface. The size of N. gonorrhoeae is 0.6 to 1.0 µm in diameter. Gonorrhea discharge looks like a yellow-white, or green-white discharge from the opening of penis.
Common symptoms of Gonorrhea
- Painful urination
- Rectal pain,
- Rectal discharge or bleeding
- Inflammation of the eye
