Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Neisseria gonorrhoeae, also called the gonococcus, is a species of Gram-negative diplococcus bacteria first isolated by Albert Neisser in 1879. It is an obligate human pathogen that primarily infects the mucosal lining of the urogenital tract but can also infect the nose, pharynx, rectum and conjunctiva, causing the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea as well as disseminated conditions such as septic arthritis and infections of a newborn eye. The bacterium is oxidase positive and can survive after being engulfed by neutrophils, and culturing it requires carbon dioxide and enriched chocolate agar media. It undergoes antigenic variation through genetic recombination of its pili and surface proteins, which lets it evade the immune system and cause repeated infections in the same person. Growing incidence and rising antimicrobial resistance make it a significant public health concern.