Increase Of Gonorrhea In The United States

In Eastern Europe between 1995 and 1999 the incidence of gonorrhea was significantly increased. (WHO/EURO, 1996).The U.S CDC estimates that only 50% of gonorrheal infections are actually reported since the disease often illustrates few or no symptoms. In 2012 the CDC reported 334,826 cases of gonorrhea in the United States with the rate of infection at 107.5/100,000 persons. There was decline in the gonnorheal disease rate from 1975 to 1997 due to significant control programs throughout the 1970s; however, 2012 marked the second consecutive year of increased incidence of gonorrhea. In the United States highest rate of gonorrheal infection is seen in young adults and African Americans; however, between 2002 and 2006 there was 7.7% decline in the the rate of cases per 100,000 population in African Americans (Miller W.C et al., 2004). Between 2005 and 2006 all racial and ethnic groups except Asian/Pacific Islanders saw slight increases in gonorrhea infections. American Indian/Alaska Natives experienced the greatest increase of 22.9%, followed by 17.7% among Caucasians, and 11.8% among Hispanics. A decrease of 1.4% was observed among Asian/Pacific Islanders. (Weinstock H et al., 2004)
In 2012, 60.9% of gonorrhea cases were reported from MSAs. The total gonorrhea rate among women in MSAs areas in 2012 was lower than rates among