Gonorrhoea DNA persistence study

This study examined the presence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae DNA following treatment for throat and rectal gonorrhoea.

Men who had sex with men who were diagnosed with throat or rectal gonorrhoea had swabs taken from the throat or rectum 7 and 14 days following treatment. Repeat testing for gonorrhoea DNA was undertaken using 2 different polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. One hundred throat and 100 rectal gonorrhoea infections in 190 men were included. For throat gonorrhoea, gonorrhoea DNA was present in 13% of men at day 7 and 8% at day 14 for both PCR tests. For rectal gonorrhoea, gonorrhoea DNA was present in 6% of men at day 7 and 8% at day 14 for both PCR tests. Throat and rectal gonorrhoea DNA was present in 8% of men 14 days after treatment.

Persistent gonorrhoea DNA may be more common in settings where infections with gonorrhoea are resistant to treatment or may reflect reinfection. Tests of cure following treatment should be maintained using culture.