gonorrhea (redirected from Gonorrea)

gonorrhea (gŏnərē`ə), common infectious disease caused by a bacterium (Neisseria gonorrhoeae), involving chiefly the mucous membranes of the genitourinary tract. It may occasionally spread to membranes in other parts of the body, especially those of the joints and the eyes. Since the principal mode of transmission is sexual contact, gonorrhea is classified as a sexually transmitted disease. Gonorrheal conjunctivitis was once a prominent cause of blindness in the newborn, the infection being transmitted during delivery. Routine use of silver nitrate solution in the eyes of every infant at birth has largely overcome this problem.

The usual site of infection in women is the cervix. From there it can spread to the uterus and fallopian tubes and cause pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, or infertility. Other complications, in both sexes, include infection of the joints, heart valves, and brain. Women are often asymptomatic, but may have a vaginal discharge or burning sensation on urination; men may have a discharge from the penis and pain on urination. Examination of the discharge reveals the presence of the bacteria. In most cases, the disease can be cured by adequate treatment with a fluoroquinolone or cephalosporin antibiotic such as ciprofloxacin or ceftriaxone. Failure of treatment is usually due to resistant strains (see drug resistance). Prior infection does not confer resistance and reinfection is common.

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gonorrhea

Sexually transmitted disease. It is characterized by genitourinary inflammation, caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae (gonococcus). Symptoms in men include burning on urination, discharge of pus, and, with deeper infection, frequent urination, sometimes with blood. Women may have mild vaginal discharge and burning, but there is usually no sign until a sex partner is infected or complications—sometimes serious—arise from its spread beyond the cervix. If spontaneous recovery does not occur, it may cause sterility in both sexes but is rarely fatal. Gonorrhea is common worldwide. Penicillin, generally a successful treatment, reduced its incidence, but resistant strains are increasingly found. Many cases are not reported. Penicillin may also mask coexisting syphilis (since the dose to cure gonorrhea does not cure syphilis).

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gonorrhoea (esp US), gonorrhea

an infectious venereal disease caused by a gonococcus, characterized by a burning sensation when urinating and a mucopurulent discharge from the urethra or vagina

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gonorrhea [‚gän·ə′rē·ə]

(medicine)

A bacterial infection of humans caused by the gonococcus (Neisseria gonorrhoeae) which invades the mucous membrane of the urogenital tract.

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Gonorrhea

A common sexually transmitted disease caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Humans are the only natural hosts for N. gonorrhoeae, which directly infects the epithelium of the mucous membranes of the human genital tract, pharynx, rectum, or conjunctiva. Local epithelial cell destruction usually occurs, but the organisms may spread to adjacent organs or disseminate via the bloodstream. In women, local complications include inflammation of the uterine lining (endometritis), inflammation of the fallopian tube (salpingitis), inflammation of the abdominal wall (peritonitis), and inflammation of Bartholin's glands (bartholinitis); in men, periurethral abscess and inflammation of a duct connected to the testes (epididymitis). Systemic manifestations such as arthritis or dermatitis may develop, and rarely endocarditis or meningitis.

Women are disproportionately affected by the complications of gonorrhea. Acute pelvic inflammatory disease and salpingitis, the most serious complications of gonorrhea, result in ectopic pregnancy and infertility. Gonococcal infection during pregnancy may also predispose women to premature rupture of membranes, delivery in less than full term, and postpartum endometritis. During childbirth, the gonococcus may infect the conjunctiva of the infant and result in the infection ophthalmia neonatorum. This infection is a serious complication that remains common in less developed countries and can lead to permanent damage to the eye and blindness.

Gonorrhea continues to be the most commonly reported communicable disease in the United States, although incidence has declined since 1984. Risk factors that may influence the probability of infection include number of sexual partners, lack of barrier contraceptives, and young age.

Gonorrhea is an infection spread by physical contact with the mucosal surfaces of an infected person, usually a sexual partner. The risk of infection depends on the anatomic site, the amount of substance containing bacteria, and the number of exposures. Variations in host susceptibility have not been well defined. In a small but significant proportion of infections, there are no symptoms. These individuals are important in the epidemiology of this disease because gonorrhea is usually spread by carriers who have no symptoms or have ignored symptoms.

Control of gonorrhea depends on early diagnosis, effective treatment, and identification of asymptomatic individuals. The last has been accomplished, in part, through screening programs. However, complete control has not been possible because of the emergence and spread of strains that are resistant to less-expensive antimicrobial treatments such as penicillin and tetracycline.

There is no evidence that infected individuals develop long-lasting immunity to reinfection, and vaccination is not available. Thus, the prevention of gonorrhea relies on behavior modification and risk reduction, use of appropriate screening and diagnostic tests, routine use of highly effective antibiotics, early identification and treatment of sexual partners of individuals with gonorrhea, and the appropriate use of barrier methods such as condoms.

An increasing proportion of infections are due to antibiotic-resistant strains of N. gonorrhoeae. Chromosomally mediated resistance to multiple antibiotics as well as plasmid-mediated resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics and tetracycline occurs in strains from both developed and developing countries. Nevertheless, infections can be effectively treated with third-generation cephalosporins (for example, ceftriaxone) or fluoroquinolones (for example, ciprofloxacin or ofloxacin). See Sexually transmitted diseases