Neisseria Gonorrhoeae
Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a human bacterium that causes sexually transmitted disease (STD) in human beings. The pathogen usually attacks the urogenital tract, with men experiencing painful urinal discharge and women may experience severe pelvic pain and slight emission of fluid containing mucus (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017).
Sexually active persons irrespective of their differences are susceptible to infection by Neisseria Gonorrhoeae. The most common way of contracting this pathogen is through sexual exchange through the mouth, penis, anus or vagina of an infected person. Additionally, mothers may transmit the pathogen to the baby during child birth if the process is not well supervised by medically qualified persons (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). The teenagers in adolescent stage stand at the highest risk of contracting the infection given that they are sexually active. Neisseria Gonorrhoeas thrives best in areas of high carbon dioxide content. Thus, the entry points include the throat, urethra, rectum and cervix after which they target columnar non-ciliated epithelial cells (Skolnik, Clouse, & Woodward, 2013).
The signs and symptoms are asymptomatic in both men and women. In men, urethral infection starts showing two week after infection and is represented through a yellow, white or green discharge, and at time is accompanied by acute testicular pain. Symptoms in women may include abnormal vaginal discharge, especially between periods, and difficulty in urination. Women are at a higher risk of developing a serious complication if the infection is not treated promptly as compared to men. Most of the symptoms in women are normally mistaken for vaginal infection (Skolnik, Clouse, & Woodward, 2013).
In conducting a laboratory diagnosis, urine samples from men and vaginal samples from women provide a basis to perform a diagnostic test. If left untreated, it causes pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) that damages the fallopian tube in women that result in infertility. In men, it results in epididymitis, and at rare instances may cause infertility. In terms of treatment, the CDC recommends dual therapy that uses two drugs prescribed by health practitioner, specifically for a patient and not shared (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). The treatment does not reverse the damages already done thus it is important to diagnose it before it spreads.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017, 09 26). Retrieved 03 27, 2018, from Gonorrhea – CDC Fact Sheet (Detailed Version): https://www.cdc.gov/std/gonorrhea/stdfact-gonorrhea-detailed.htm
(2013). In N. S. Skolnik, A. L. Clouse, & J. A. Woodward, Sexually Transmitted Diseases: A Practical Guide for Primary Care (pp. 77-90). Berlin: Springer Science & Business Media.