Abstract
Gonorrhea has been a public nuisance long before it was identified as a bacterium. Gonorrhea can be identified as one of the oldest known human diseases. References to a urethritis acquired from sexual contact can be read about in the Old Testament, and ancient Chinese writings (Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett’s principles and practice of infectious diseases. Churchill Livingstone, Orlando, 2009). Its name is quite descriptive of its symptoms, as least in men. The name gonorrhea, is derived of “flow of seed,” was coined in 130 ad when it was noted that the purulent discharge of this disease appeared similar to semen. Not until as recently as 1879 was German physician Albert Neisser able to identify and describe the bacteria causing such nuisance, Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett’s principles and practice of infectious diseases. Churchill Livingstone, Orlando, 2009). Despite a known cause, physicians had no true treatment for gonorrhea until the 1930s brought the advent of antibiotics; first with sulfonamides then penicillin in the 1940s. However, N. gonorrhoeae has continued to be a troublesome bug, growing resistant to multiple treatments, including penicillin. The medical community today must remain continuously vigilant, and stay ahead of resistance of this hardy and common bacterium.
This chapter will provide a discussion of the incidence, diagnosis, and treatment of gonorrheal infections with special emphasis paid to antibiotic resistance. The 2010 CDC treatment guidelines will be reviewed along with the 2012 updates.
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Thuener, J.E., Clouse, A.L. (2013). Gonorrhea. In: Skolnik, N., Clouse, A., Woodward, J. (eds) Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Current Clinical Practice. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-499-9_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-499-9_4
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