Gonorrhea Test

Test Overview

Gonorrhea tests tell if a person has this disease. They look for the bacterium, or germ, that causes gonorrhea. Testing is done on body fluid or urine samples.

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection. That means it is spread through sexual contact. It does not always cause symptoms.

Tests used to find a gonorrhea infection include:

• Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT). NAATs find the genetic material (DNA) of gonorrhea germs. These tests are very accurate. They can be done on urine samples or samples of body fluid from the area where the infection is suspected.
• Gonorrhea culture and sensitivity. This test may be done if you aren't getting better after treatment. It can find the bacteria that cause a gonorrhea infection and the right medicine to treat the infection. This is called sensitivity testing. This test can be done on samples of body fluid from the area where the infection is suspected.

If a gonorrhea infection is suspected, don't have sex until the test results have come back. If the test shows that you have gonorrhea, don't have sex for 7 days after the start of treatment. Your sex partner or partners must also be treated for gonorrhea to avoid passing the infection back to you or to others.

If you have gonorrhea, all of your sex partners from the last 60 days should be tested and treated. And you may need to have tests for other sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.