Gonococcal Carriage in the Throat – No Common Findings Anyhow?

Abstract

Urethral carriage of gonococci is now accepted as a common phenomenon. During the last 10 years, moreover, gonococcal infections of the throat – both symptomatic and asymptomatic – have increasingly been demonstrated. As most investigations were undertaken in a highly selected population (VD patients), it seemed useful to screen a group of army recruits for the presence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in their throats. In fact, while Neisseria meningitidis turned up very often, no such strains could be found. So gonococcal pharyngeal – other than urethral – carriage cannot be considered as a normal finding in an unselected population; as high as the corresponding rates in VD patients may be.