The role of effective diagnosis for the control of gonorrhoea in high prevalence populations

Gonorrhoea in the UK is now a highly focal problem that is localized to certain inner city areas where it presents a significant public health concern. However, the majority of men and a proportion of women infested with Neisseria gonorrhoeae do not experience symptoms of sufficient intensity to prompt them to seek medical advice and the current strategy of treating symptomatic individuals in specialist clinics with subsequent tracing of sexual partners is therefore failing to control the spread of infection in these areas. One method for addressing this problem would be the extension of effective diagnostic services into the clinical environments most likely to be accessed by these high-risk individuals. This paper reviews the scientific Literature examining the various methodologies available for the identification of N. gonorrhoeae and assesses their suitability for the diagnosis of gonorrhoea in these alternative clinical settings.