A palpable preauricular node is almost always present. Gonococcal conjunctivitis, sometimes referred to as hyperacute conjunctivitis, is also a sexually transmitted ocular disease. While sexual contact is the customary route of transmission, even casual interaction with infected individuals has been reported as a cause. Newborn infants may acquire the infection by passing through an infected birth canal. Systemically, gonococcal infections are associated with infection of the urethra, cervix and rectum.
Symptoms vary from nothing to discharge and irritation.
The conjunctivitis has an incubation period of two to seven days. Conjunctival papillae, superficial punctate keratitis and marked chemosis are almost always present. In chronic, recalcitrant or severe cases, peripheral subepithelial corneal infiltrates may occur, leading to marginal ulceration with anterior uveitis. The sub-group A causes chlamydial infections, the serotypes A, B, Ba and C cause trachoma, and serotypes D through K produce adult inclusion conjunctivitis. The mode of ocular transmission may be hand contact from a site of genital infection to the eye, laboratory accidents, a mother infecting the newborn, shared cosmetics and occasionally an improperly chlorinated hot tub.