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Gonorrhoea is a sexually transmitted disease caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, occurring worldwide but reaching epidemic proportions in the USA.
There were 18,000 cases in the UK in 1989. A 11% drop in the total number of new gonorrhoea diagnoses has been reported between 2007 and 2008; from 18,649 to 16,629. This is the lowest since 1999 (1).
The highest incidence is reported in the 15-29 years age group. Ethnic minority groups and men who have sex with men carry a disproportionate burden of disease (2).
The most common form of transmission is from sexual contact. Non-sexual transmission can occur - for example an infected mother passing the infection to a newborn child, usually resulting in gonococcal conjunctivitis.
Clinical features of the disease vary between genders. About 40% of females are asymptomatic whereas asymptomatic infection rarely occurs in males.
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