Gonorrhea is the second most common nationally notifiable disease in the
U.S. and, like chlamydia, is a major cause of PID, infertility, and ectopic
pregnancy. Gonococcal infections may be transmitted from a pregnant woman
to her child during delivery (potentially causing ophthalmic disease),
and have also been shown to facilitate the transmission of HIV. Gonorrhea
is
curable with antibiotics, though resistance to certain classes of antibiotics
is an emerging problem.
From 1975 through 2004, the gonorrhea rate declined
76% following implementation of the national gonorrhea control program
in the mid-1970s. In 2004, 330,132 cases of gonorrhea were reported
in the U.S. This case count corresponds to a rate of 113.5 cases per 100,000
population,
which was the lowest rate of reported gonorrhea ever.
Key Points and Trends
In 2004, among all race/ethnicities, AI/AN had the second highest
gonorrhea rate (117.7 cases per 100,000 population), which was 3.5 times
higher than the rate for whites (33.3 cases per 100,000 population).
African-Americans had the highest gonorrhea rate (629.6 cases per 100,000
population).
In
2004, 2,858 of 330,132 gonococcal infections (0.9%) reported to CDC
from the 50 states and DC occurred among AI/AN. The AI/AN gonorrhea rate
increased
by 14.8% during 2003-2004 (2003 rate: 102.5 cases per 100,000 population).
Comparatively, the total U.S. gonorrhea rate decreased by 1.5% during
2003-2004.
In
2004, the gonorrhea rate among AI/AN women in the U.S. (155.3 cases
per 100,000 females) was 2.0 times higher than the rate among AI/AN
men (79.0
cases per 100,000 males). For the total U.S., 2004 adjusted gonorrhea
rates were similar for both women and men (116.5 cases per 100,000
females and
110.0 cases per 100,000 males).
Among AI/AN women, the highest
age-specific rates of reported gonorrhea in 2004 were among 20- to
24-year-olds (612.8
cases per 100,000 females) and 15- to 19-year-olds (561.2 cases per
100,000 females). These two age groups also represented the highest
age-specific rates among all women in the U.S. (15-19 years: 610.9
cases per 100,000
females and 20-24 years: 569.1 cases per 100,000 females).
Age-specific
rates among AI/AN men, while substantially lower than the rates
in AI/AN women, were highest among 20- to 24-year-olds (304.6 cases
per 100,000 males). This age group also had the highest rates among
all men
in
the
U.S. (430.6
cases per 100,000 males).
