Trends in Surveillance of Gonorrhea in the United States

After declining 74% between 1975 and 1997, the national gonorrhea rate has been stable for more than a decade at just over 100 cases per 100,000 people.  In 2008 there were small rate declines among most age groups and racial/ethnic groups from the previous year, but racial disparities remain high, with rates being 20 times higher in blacks than in whites.  A greater understanding of how to address these disparities could be obtained using enhanced surveillance data from sources such as the STD Surveillance Network (SSuN).  This presentation uses both national case reporting and SSuN data to describe recent gonorrhea trends.