Gonorrhea

• Gonorrhea Overview
• Gonorrhea Causes
• Gonorrhea Symptoms
• When to Seek Medical Care
• Exams and Tests
• Gonorrhea Treatment
• Self-Care at Home
• Medications
  • Learn more about medications like ciprofloxacin (Cipro) and ceftriaxone (Rocephin) on RxList.com.
• Next Steps
• Follow-up
• Prevention
• Outlook
• Synonyms and Keywords
• Authors and Editors

Gonorrhea Overview

Gonorrhea is one of the most common diseases passed from one person to another during sexual activity.

• The overall rate of gonorrhea is now increasing, after a steady decline for the past two decades, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported notifiable disease in the United States. The CDC estimates that approximately 700,000 new gonorrheal infections occur yearly in the U.S., only about half of which are reported to the CDC. . More than 5% of people between the ages of 18 and 35 have an infection with gonorrhea that they do not know about. New strains are more easily spread and are resisting treatment even with strong antibiotics.

• Infection with gonorrhea is more common in certain groups of people. The highest reported infection rates occur in the following groups:
  
  
  • Adolescents and young adults
    
    
  • People (often poor) living in urban areas and Southern states
    
    
  • African Americans
    
    
  • Drug users