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Gonorrhea, also spelled gonorrhoea, is a sexually transmitted infection (STI)

caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae.[1] Many people have no symptoms.[1]


Men may have burning with urination, discharge from the penis, or testicular pain.
[1] Women may have burning with urination, vaginal discharge, vaginal bleeding
between periods, or pelvic pain.[1] Complications in women include pelvic
inflammatory disease and in men include inflammation of the epididymis.[1] If
untreated, gonorrhea can spread to joints or heart valves.[1][2]

Gonorrhea is spread through sexual contact with an infected person.[1] This


includes oral, anal, and vaginal sex.[1] It can also spread from a mother to a
child during birth.[1] Diagnosis is by testing the urine, urethra in males, or
cervix in females.[1] Testing all women who are sexually active and less than 25
years of age each year as well as those with new sexual partners is recommended;[3]
the same recommendation applies in men who have sex with men (MSM).[3]

Gonorrhea can be prevented with the use of condoms, having sex with only one person
who is uninfected, and by not having sex.[1][3] Treatment is usually with
ceftriaxone by injection and azithromycin by mouth.[4][5] Resistance has developed
to many previously used antibiotics and higher doses of ceftriaxone are
occasionally required.[4][5] Retesting is recommended three months after treatment.
[3] Sexual partners from the last 2 months should also be treated.[1]

Gonorrhea affects about 0.8% of women and 0.6% of men.[6] An estimated 33 to 106
million new cases occur each year, out of the 498 million new cases of curable STI
� which also includes syphilis, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis.[7][8] Infections in
women most commonly occur when they are young adults.[3] In 2015, it caused about
700 deaths.[9] Descriptions of the disease date as far back as the Old Testament.
[2]

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