Do all women attending urban sexual health services need testing for gonorrhoea?

Asymptomatic women are often screened for gonorrhoea at Australian sexual health centres. The medical records of all women diagnosed with gonorrhoea at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC) between January 2002 and December 2003 were audited and the database was examined for risk factors in all women tested in 2003. Fifteen cases of gonorrhoea were identified among women at MSHC, all had symptoms or an identifiable risk factor. Asymptomatic women without risk factors may not require screening for Neisseria gonorrhoeae in low prevalence populations.