Gonorrhea prevalence and coinfection with chlamydia in women in the United States, 2000.

BACKGROUND

No recent national data address the prevalence of gonorrhea.

GOAL: The goal was to describe gonorrhea prevalence and chlamydial coinfection among women aged 15 to 24 years.

STUDY

DESIGN

Data were analyzed from tests for chlamydia and gonorrhea at family planning, STD, and prenatal clinics in 2000. Gonorrhea positivity, chlamydia positivity among women with gonorrhea, and the median and interquartile ranges (IQRs) were calculated.

RESULTS

The median state-specific gonorrhea positivity among women aged 15 to 24 years was 0.9% (IQR, 0.7%-1.7%) in family planning clinics, 7.0% (IQR, 4.1%-10.4%) in STD clinics, and 1.0% (IQR, 0.8%-1.6%) in prenatal clinics. Gonorrhea positivity was higher among females aged 15 to 19 years than among those aged 20 to 24 years. Median chlamydia positivity for females infected with gonorrhea was highest among those aged 15 to 19 years (46%).

CONCLUSIONS

Gonorrhea positivity was consistently highest among women aged 15 to 19 years; almost half of women aged 15 to 19 years with gonorrhea also had chlamydia.