In 2023, the US reported about 1.65 million chlamydia cases — a rate of 492.2 per 100,000 people CDC AtlasPlus, 2023. Washington DC had the highest rate (1,228 per 100,000), followed by Louisiana (792
In 2023, the US reported 601,319 gonorrhea cases, a national rate of 179.5 per 100,000 CDC AtlasPlus, 2023. Rates vary enormously by place — Washington, DC tops the country at 853.3 per 100,000, follo
Antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea — often called "super gonorrhea" — is infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains that no longer respond to drugs once used to cure it. In the US, gonorrhea is still cu
Disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI) happens when untreated Neisseria gonorrhoeae spreads from the genitals, throat, or rectum into the bloodstream. It typically causes a triad of fever, joint pain
Gonorrhea in the eye is conjunctivitis caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae reaching the eye — usually when a person touches genital fluids and then their eye (autoinoculation), or when a new
No — gonorrhea does not reliably go away on its own, and waiting it out is a gamble that can cost you your fertility. The infection is curable, but only with the right antibiotic. Symptoms often fade
Gonorrhea symptoms usually appear within about two weeks of exposure, when they appear at all. In people with a penis, burning urination and discharge often show up within days. Many infections—especi
Yes — untreated gonorrhea can cause infertility in both women and men. In women, the bacteria can climb into the uterus and fallopian tubes and cause pelvic inflammatory disease, scarring the tubes. I
Gonorrhea is a common bacterial sexually transmitted infection caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae , which can infect the genitals, rectum, and throat. It spreads through vaginal, anal, and oral sex. Many
To prevent gonorrhea, use condoms correctly every time you have vaginal, anal, or oral sex, limit your number of partners or stay mutually monogamous, and get screened regularly at every site you've e
Rectal gonorrhea is an infection of the anus and rectum caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae , usually picked up through receptive anal sex. It often causes no symptoms at all; when it does,
A gonorrhea test of cure is a repeat NAAT done after treatment to confirm the infection is actually gone. The CDC recommends it only for throat (pharyngeal) gonorrhea , tested 7–14 days after treatmen
To get tested for gonorrhea, give a first-catch urine sample (or a vaginal swab) plus a throat or rectal swab if you've had oral or anal sex, then run a NAAT — the same lab method used by clinics and
Gonorrhea spreads through vaginal, anal, and oral sex with someone who carries the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae . It passes when infected genital, rectal, or throat fluids and mucous membranes make
A syphilis chancre is the first sore of syphilis: a single, firm, round, painless ulcer that appears at the spot where Treponema pallidum bacteria entered the body — usually the genitals, anus, or mou
Yes, you can get syphilis from oral sex. Treponema pallidum , the bacterium that causes syphilis, spreads through direct contact with a syphilis sore — and those sores can sit on the lips, mouth, thro
Syphilis has an incubation period of about 10 to 90 days, averaging around three weeks, between exposure and the first painless sore (chancre) of primary syphilis CDC, About Syphilis. After that sore
The Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction is a short-lived flare of fever, chills, headache, and muscle aches that appears within the first day after syphilis treatment — usually within a couple of hours of the
Latent syphilis is the symptom-free phase of a Treponema pallidum infection: the bacterium is still alive and detectable on a blood test, but the sores and rash of earlier stages have faded. Clinician
Neurosyphilis is what happens when Treponema pallidum , the bacterium that causes syphilis, invades the brain, spinal cord, or surrounding fluid. It can appear at any stage of infection, not just late
Syphilis is a curable bacterial infection caused by Treponema pallidum , spread mainly through sexual contact with an infectious sore and from a pregnant person to their baby. It moves through four st
If you're allergic to penicillin and have syphilis, you can usually be treated with doxycycline (100 mg orally twice daily for 14 days for early disease, or 28 days for late latent) instead. The major
You prevent syphilis by combining several layers: use condoms correctly and consistently, limit exposure to untested partners, and screen regularly if you're at risk. For some gay and bisexual men and
A rising syphilis titer after treatment can mean two very different things: reinfection (you cleared the first infection and caught it again, usually from an untreated partner) or treatment failure (t