Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Neisseria gonorrhoeae, also known as gonococcus, or gonococci is a species of Gram-negative diplococci bacteria isolated by Albert Neisser in 1879. It causes the sexually transmitted genitourinary infection gonorrhea as well as other forms of gonococcal disease including disseminated gonococcemia, septic arthritis, and gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum. It is oxidase positive and aerobic, and it survives within neutrophils. Culturing it requires carbon dioxide supplementation and enriched agar (chocolate agar) with various antimicrobials (Thayer-Martin). It exhibits antigenic variation through recombination of its pili and surface proteins that interact with the immune system. Sexual transmission is possible through vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Sexual transmission may be prevented through the use of barrier protection.