Gonorrhea is one of the most frequently reported STD. 40% of it's victims contract PID if not treated, and it can cause sterility.

Type: Bacterial

Modes of Transmission: Vaginal, anal or oral sex.

Symptoms: Though some cases may be asymptomatic, when symptoms do appear, they are often mild and usually appear within 2-10 days after exposure. The symptoms include discharge from the penis, vagina, or rectum and burning or itching during urination.

Treatment: Infection can be cured with antibiotics. However, it cannot undo the damage done prior to treatment.

Possible Consequences for the Infected Person: Untreated in women, the disease is a major cause of pelvic inflammatory disease. Eptopic pregnancy, infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can lead to ectopic pregnancy, infertility, and chronic pelvic pain. It can cause sterility in men. Untreated gonorrhea can infect the joints, heart valves and/or the brain.

Possible Consequences for the Fetus and Newborn: Gonorrhea can cause blindness and systemic diseases such as meningitis and septic arthritis in infants infected during delivery. To prevent blindness, all newborns delivered in hospitals have their eves treated with medication specific for gonorrhea.

Prevention: Abstaining from vaginal, anal and oral sex with an infected person is the only 100% effective means of prevention. Latex condoms can reduce but not eliminate the risk of contracting the disease during sex.

Gonorrhea, caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, is the second most frequently reported communicable disease in the United States: 325,883 cases were reported to CDC in 1996. N. gonorrhoeae causes uncomplicated infections of mucosal membranes including the cervix, rectum, and throat. If untreated, gonorrhea remains a major cause of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), tubal infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and chronic pelvic pain. Epidemiologic studies provide strong evidence that gonococcal infections facilitate HIV transmission. It is estimated that only one-half of the actual number of infections are reported.