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Pathology => Human Diseases => Gonorrhea
Gonorrhea
INTRODUCTION
Gonorrhea, infectious sexually transmitted disease of humans, which primarily involves the mucous membranes of the urogenital tract. Characterized by a discharge of pus, it is caused by the gonococcus bacterium, Neisseria gonorrhoeae.The incubation period is two to seven days.
SYMPTOMS AND DIAGNOSIS
Gonorrhea is much more obvious in males, who develop an acute discharge of pus from the urethra. Scant at the start, it becomes progressively thicker and heavier and causes frequent urination, often with a burning sensation. Should the prostate become infected, the passage of urine is partly obstructed. In females the infection occurs in the urethra, the vagina, or the cervix. Although discharge and irritation of the vaginal mucous membranes may be severe, more often few or no early symptoms appear.
Gonorrhea is diagnosed readily by staining a smear of the discharge to reveal the bacteria. Treatment in the early stages is usually effective. If the disease is untreated in the male, the early symptoms may subside but the infection may spread to the testicles, causing sterility. In the untreated female the infection usually spreads from the cervix into the uterus and Fallopian tubes, causing pelvic inflammatory disease. Severe pain may occur, or the infection may linger with few or no symptoms, gradually damaging the tubes and rendering the woman sterile. In both sexes the gonococcus may enter the bloodstream, resulting in arthritis, heart inflammation, or other diseases. Gonorrhea in pregnant women may be transmitted to the infant during birth and may, if untreated, cause a serious eye infection.
TREATMENT
Penicillin is commonly used against gonorrhea, although over the years an increasing number of penicillin-resistant strains have developed. Other effective antibiotics include tetracycline, spectinomycin, and the newer ones called cephalosporins, one of which, ceftriaxone, can cure uncomplicated gonorrhea, including infections resistant to penicillin, with a single injection.
Gonorrhea increased greatly in the U.S. in the 1970s and early '80s, almost reaching epidemic proportions in adolescents and young adults. In most large cities clinics have been established where young people can get treatment. One of the most difficult tasks in controlling gonorrhea is locating all recent sexual contacts of an infected person in order to prevent further spread of the disease.
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