Skip directly to site content Skip directly to search
An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
Official websites use .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Gonorrhea (Neisseria gonorrhoeae)
1990 Case Definition

Gonorrhea (Neisseria gonorrhoeae)
1990 Case Definition
NOTE: A surveillance case definition is a set of uniform criteria used to define a disease for public health surveillance. Surveillance case definitions enable public health officials to classify and count cases consistently across reporting jurisdictions. Surveillance case definitions are not intended to be used by healthcare providers for making a clinical diagnosis or determining how to meet an individual patient’s health needs.

Clinical Description

A sexually transmitted infection commonly manifested by urethritis, cervicitis, or salpingitis. Infection may be asymptomatic.

Laboratory Criteria For Diagnosis

  • Isolation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from a clinical specimen, OR
  • Observation of gram-negative intracellular diplococci in a urethral smear obtained from a man

Case Classification

Probable

Demonstration of gram-negative intracellular diplococci in an endocervical smear obtained from a woman, or a written (morbidity) report of gonorrhea submitted by a physician

Confirmed

A case that is laboratory confirmed

Related Case Definition(s)

Back to Top
Print
Content Source:
Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology

National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS)

NNDSS receives and shares case data from state, local, and territorial health departments to help public health monitor, control, and prevent serious diseases.

View All
Sign up for Email Updates