Causes, Incidence and Risk Factors Gonorrhea is one of the most common infectious bacterial diseases and is most frequently transmitted during sexual intercourse, including both oral and anal sex. This allows for adequate follow-up and testing of sexual contacts. Although gonorrhea does not respect either geographic location or the person's standing in society, it is not uniformly spread throughout the population. Instead, there is a higher prevalence in large metropolitan areas, inner city areas, populations with lower overall levels of education, and people with a lower socioeconomic status. From the standpoint of age, gonorrhea is most prevalent in people 15 to 29 years old.
Gonorrhea is an infection which is easily transmitted by sexual contact.
It can be contracted during oral, vaginal, or anal sex. In infants and children, transmission can occur by non-sexual contact, but it is rare. Women are thought to acquire gonorrhea at a slightly higher rate from an infected male. The average incubation of gonorrhea is approximately 2 to 5 days following sexual contact with an infected partner. However, symptoms may appear as late as 2 weeks.