The contemporary world trends in epidemiology of gonococcal infection: The publications review

The gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae. N. gonorrhoeae being tropic to columnar epithelium, primarily infects mucosa of urogenital system, rectum, pharynx and conjunctiva. According the WHO, in 2016 about 87 million of new cases of gonorrhea were registered in the age group of 15-49 years old. The number of new gonorrhea cases increases steadily in many countries. The significant contribution into propagation of infection is made by males practicing sex with males, migrants, commercial sex workers, ethnic minorities. The undetected cervical gonococcus infection can result in such severe complications as inflammatory diseases of organs of small pelvis and infertility that directly impacts the reproductive losses of population. The anorectal and and pharyngeal gonorrhea very often takes asymptomatic course that complicates diagnostic and effects the statistical picture of morbidity. The apprehension of world trends in epidemiology of gonococcal infection can become a key point in implementation and development of national and international programs of prevention of propagation of this disease. The review of national and world publications concerning actual clinical epidemiological characteristics of gonococcus infection was implemented through such on-line search systems as PubMed, Google Scholar, BioMed Central (95 publications in total). The conclusions are made about steady increasing of morbidity due to propagation of infection in groups of risky sexual behavior, application of modern diagnostic means and patterns of clinical course of gonorrhea. The role of sexually transmitted infections in development of infertility, inflammatory diseases of organs of small pelvis, miscarriage and reproductive losses of poplation is marked.