Gonorrhoea culture and determination
Gonorrhea Test
Gonorrhea and Chlamydia Are Both Completely Curable. The Safest Thing To Do is To Take the Test.
Gonorrhea Fact
What is gonorrhea?
Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by a bacterium. Gonorrhea can grow easily in the warm, moist areas of the reproductive tract, including the cervix (opening to the womb), uterus (womb), and fallopian tubes (egg canals) in women, and in the urethra (urine canal) in women and men. The bacterium can also grow in the mouth, throat, eyes, and anus.
How common is gonorrhea?
Gonorrhea is a very common infectious disease. CDC estimates that, annually, more than 700,000 people in the United States get new gonorrhea infections and less than half of these infections are reported to CDC. In 2010, 309,341 cases of gonorrhea were reported to CDC.
How do people get gonorrhea?
People get gonorrhea by having sex with someone who has the disease. “Having sex” means anal, vaginal, or oral sex. Gonorrhea can still be transmitted even if a man does not ejaculate. Gonorrhea can also be spread from an untreated mother to her baby during childbirth. People who have had gonorrhea and have been treated may get infected again if they have sexual contact with a person infected with gonorrhea.
Who is at risk for gonorrhea?
Any sexually active person can be infected with gonorrhea. It is a very common STD. In the United States, the highest reported rates of infection are among sexually active teenagers, young adults, and African Americans.
What are the symptoms of gonorrhea?
Some men with gonorrhea may have no symptoms at all. However, common symptoms in men include a burning sensation when urinating, or a white, yellow, or green discharge from the penis that usually appears 1 to 14 days after infection. Sometimes men with gonorrhea get painful or swollen testicles.
Most women with gonorrhea do not have any symptoms. Even when a woman has symptoms, they are often mild and can be mistaken for a bladder or vaginal infection. The initial symptoms in women can include a painful or burning sensation when urinating, increased vaginal discharge, or vaginal bleeding between periods. Women with gonorrhea are at risk of developing serious complications from the infection, even if symptoms are not present or are mild.
Symptoms of rectal infection in both men and women may include discharge, anal itching, soreness, bleeding, or painful bowel movements. Rectal infections may also cause no symptoms. Infections in the throat may cause a sore throat, but usually cause no symptoms.
What are the complications of gonorrhea?
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)
Untreated gonorrhea can cause serious and permanent health problems in both women and men.
In women, gonorrhea can spread into the uterus (womb) or fallopian tubes (egg canals) and cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). The symptoms may be mild or can be very severe and can include abdominal pain and fever. PID can lead to internal abscesses (pus-filled pockets that are hard to cure) and chronic (long-lasting) pelvic pain. PID can damage the fallopian tubes enough that a woman will be unable to have children. It also can increase her risk of ectopic pregnancy. Ectopic pregnancy is a life-threatening condition in which a fertilized egg grows outside the uterus, usually in a fallopian tube.
In men, gonorrhea can cause a painful condition called epididymitis in the tubes attached to the testicles. In rare cases, this may prevent a man from being able to father children.
If not treated, gonorrhea can also spread to the blood or joints. This condition can be life-threatening.
What about Gonorrhea and HIV?
Untreated gonorrhea can increase a person’s risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV—the virus that causes AIDS.
How does gonorrhea affect a pregnant woman and her baby?
If a pregnant woman has gonorrhea, she may give the infection to her baby as the baby passes through the birth canal during delivery. This can cause serious health problems for the baby. Treating gonorrhea as soon as it is detected in pregnant women will make these health outcomes less likely. Pregnant women should consult a health care provider for appropriate examination, testing, and treatment, as necessary.
Who should be tested for gonorrhea?
Any sexually active person can be infected with gonorrhea. Anyone with genital symptoms such as discharge, burning during urination, unusual sores, or rash should stop having sex and see a health care provider immediately.
Also, anyone with an oral, anal, or vaginal sex partner who has been recently diagnosed with an STD should see a health care provider for evaluation.
Some people should be tested for gonorrhea even if they do not have symptoms or know of a sex partner who has gonorrhea. Anyone who is sexually active should discuss his or her risk factors with a health care provider and ask whether he or she should be tested for gonorrhea or other STDs.
People who have gonorrhea should also be tested for other STDs.
How is gonorrhea diagnosed?
Most of the time, a urine test can be used to test for gonorrhea. However, if a person has had oral and/or anal sex, swabs may be used to collect samples from the throat and/or rectum. In some cases, a swab may be used to collect a sample from a man’s urethra (urine canal) or a woman’s cervix (opening to the womb).
What is the treatment for gonorrhea?
Antibiotic-Resistant Gonorrhea
Gonorrhea can be cured with the right treatment. It is important to take all of the medication prescribed to cure gonorrhea. Medication for gonorrhea should not be shared with anyone. Although medication will stop the infection, it will not repair any permanent damage done by the disease. Drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea are increasing, and successful treatment of gonorrhea is becoming more difficult. If a person’s symptoms continue for more than a few days after receiving treatment, he or she should return to a health care provider to be reevaluated.
What about partners?
If a person has been diagnosed and treated for gonorrhea, he or she should tell all recent anal, vaginal, or oral sex partners so they can see a health care provider and be treated. This will reduce the risk that the sex partners will develop serious complications from gonorrhea and will also reduce the person’s risk of becoming re-infected. A person with gonorrhea and all of his or her sex partners must avoid having sex until they have completed their treatment for gonorrhea and until they no longer have symptoms.
How can gonorrhea be prevented?
Latex condoms, when used consistently and correctly, can reduce the risk of getting or giving gonorrhea. The most certain way to avoid gonorrhea is to not have sex or to be in a long-term, mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and is known to be uninfected.
Why Get Tested?
To screen for or diagnose an infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which causes the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea
When to Get Tested?
If you are sexually active, pregnant, have one or more risk factors for developing gonorrhea, or have symptoms such as increased vaginal discharge, bleeding associated with vaginal intercourse, or burning/painful urination (for women) or a pus-like discharge from the penis or a burning sensation during urination (for men)
Sample Required?
A swab of secretion or discharge from the infected area or a urine sample
Test Preparation Needed?
None
Test Sample
The Test Sample What is being tested?
The test is looking for presence of the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which causes the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than 700,000 people in the U.S. get new gonorrheal infections each year, but only half of these infections get reported to the CDC. In the US, the highest reported rates of infection are among sexually active teenagers, young adults, and African Americans.
Gonorrhea is generally transmitted through sexual contact (oral, vaginal, or anal) with an infected partner. An infected mother can pass the disease to her baby during childbirth.
While many men with gonorrhea will experience symptoms, most women do not, or they are mistaken for a bladder or other vaginal infection. For men, symptoms usually appear within 2 to 5 days of infection, but can take up to 30 days; for women, those who have symptoms usually experience them within 10 days of infection. Symptoms include, for females, burning or painful urination, increased vaginal discharge, and sometimes bleeding between menstrual periods or brought on by vaginal intercourse. For men, symptoms include a white, yellow or green discharge from the penis, a burning sensation when urinating, and sometimes painful or swollen testicles. Symptoms of rectal infection include discharge, itching, and painful bowel movements.
Gonorrhea can be treated with a course of antibiotics. Untreated gonorrhea can lead to severe complications. Women can develop pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), an infection that spreads from the vagina and cervix to the uterus and fallopian tubes. PID can cause scaring of the fallopian tubes, which can lead to ectopic pregnancy or infertility. In men, the infection can lead to an inflammation of the testicles that can result in sterility. In both males and females, the bacteria can also spread to the bloodstream and infect the joints, causing a type of arthritis. Other potentially severe clinical complications include osteomyelitis, meningitis, endocarditis, adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and fatal septic shock. A newborn infected with gonorrhea can develop blood, joint, and eye infections that can lead to blindness if not treated.
How is the sample collected for testing?
A swab is used to get a sample of secretion or discharge from the infected area such as the cervix, urethra, penis, anus, or throat. A urine sample is used in some tests. Many doctors will take a sample from more than one body site to increase the likelihood of finding the bacteria.
Is any test preparation needed to ensure the quality of the sample?
No test preparation is needed.
Gonorrhoea Test
How is it used?
The test is used in two ways:
- to diagnose the cause of symptoms,
- and to screen sexually active people.
A definitive diagnosis is important because symptoms of gonorrhea can resemble chlamydia clinically and the two disorders require different treatment.
There are several methods available, but the preferred method of testing currently is the molecular test. This test is based on amplification of the DNA that is present in Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Molecular testing for Neisseria gonorrhoeae is currently the standard and is widely utilized. The advantage of molecular tests is that they are generally more sensitive and specific than conventional culture and can therefore identify more positive specimens.
In men, a quick method that may be used in a clinic or doctor's office is the gram stain, which allows the doctor to look at a sample from the urethra for the presence of the bacteria using a microscope. This method is not used on samples from women.
Testing for Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis is generally done simultaneously as the two organisms have similar clinical signs and symptoms.
When is it ordered?
A doctor may order the test if you have symptoms such as (for women) increased vaginal discharge, bleeding associated with vaginal intercourse, or burning/painful urination; or (for men) pus discharging from the penis, a burning sensation during urination, or proctitis (inflammation of the rectal or anal area). However, because many infected people do not have any symptoms, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends the following:
- All sexually active females 25 years of age and younger should have a gonorrhea test each year.
- All other sexually active women who have no symptoms but are at increased risk for infection should be routinely screened.
- All pregnant women are tested for gonorrhea. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that males who have sex with males be screened at least once a year for gonorrhea as well as other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including chlamydia, syphilis, and HIV.
What does the test result mean?
A positive test indicates an active infection that requires treatment with a course of antibiotics.
A negative test means only that there is no evidence of disease at the time of the test. It is important for those who are at increased risk of infection to have screening tests performed on a regular basis to check for possible exposure.
If you are infected, your sexual partner(s) should also be tested and treated as well.
Is there anything else I should know?
If you are infected, your risk of contracting other sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, is increased.
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