Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.
Gonorrhea: Laboratory Activities Gonorrhea/Neisseria

Gonorrhea

Alert:
Fluoroquinolone Resistance


Definitions of Gonorrhea:
  Clinical laboratory identification
  Case definition (Surveillance)  

Neisseria and related species
  Identification
  Natural Habitat
  Pathogenicity
  Prevalence
  Taxonomy

Antimicrobial Resistance
  Surveillance: GISP
  Susceptibility Testing
    Disk diffusion
    Agar dilution

Strain Typing
  Auxotyping
  Serotyping

Publications
  CDC publications
  Branch publications

Links: Other Resources




[BSTD Branch Page]
[DASTLR Page]
[NCID Home Page]
[CDC Home Page]

Gonorrhea, caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, is second only to chlamydial infections in the number of cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); 325,883 cases were reported to CDC in 1996 (1996 Sexually Transmitted Diseases Surveillance Report). The number of reported cases of gonorrhea increased steadily from 1964 to 1977, fluctuated through the early 1980s, increased until 1987, and since 1987 has decreased annually. The incidence of gonorrhea is highest in high-density urban areas among persons under 24 year of age who have multiple sex partners and engage in unprotected sexual intercourse. Increases in gonorrhea prevalence have been noted recently among men who have sex with men.

Antimicrobial resistance in N. gonorrhoeae contributed to the increase in cases of gonorrhea in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s. Antimicrobial resistance in N. gonorrhoeae occurs as plasmid-mediated resistance to penicillin and tetracycline, and chromosomally mediated resistance to penicillins, tetracyclines, spectinomycin, and recently to fluoroquinolones. The decline in gonorrhea prevalence may be attributed to recommendations by CDC (1998 Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines) that only highly effective antimicrobial agents be used to treat gonorrhea.

The gonorrhea laboratory program at CDC includes efforts to:

a) ensure the accurate identification of N. gonorrhoeae;
b) determine the magnitude, nature, and diversity of antimicrobial resistance in N. gonorrhoeae; and
c) study the dynamics of gonococcal strain populations within communities.

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Bacterial STD Branch, Division of AIDS, STD, and TB Laboratory Research, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.
URL: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dastlr/gcdir/gono.html
Maintained by: jsk2
Created: 8/23/95
Updated: 5/4/98

[BSTD Branch Page] [DASTLR Page] [NCID Home Page] [CDC Home Page]