Gonorrhoea is caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, an exclusively human pathogen that is exquisitely sensitive to drying. During sexual intercourse with an infected partner, males have a 1:5 chance and females have a 1:2 chance of themselves becoming infected. Of the women infected by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, approximately half are asymptomatic. These women act as a reservoir of infection, perpetuating the disease. Infected men are very rarely asymptomatic, but they are unlikely to develop complications from their infections.
Among the infections associated with gonococcal infections are septic monoarthritis and pelvic inflammatory disease, a condition that can lead to infertility or ectopic pregnancy. Babies born to infected mothers may develop an eye infection, ophthalmia neonatorum. Genital infections are the most common, but current sexual practices also lead to infections of the pharynx or rectum as well. Urethral strictures may complicate untreated urethritis.
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