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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

A Neonatal Imaging Model of Gram-Negative Bacterial Sepsis
Published on: August 12, 2020
Gonococcal infections in neonates and young children
1Department of Pediatrics, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA. cwoods@wfubmc.edu
Abstract:
Gonorrhea has been recognized since antiquity, and more than 60 million new cases occur yearly worldwide. Much has been learned about the molecular pathogenesis of infection by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, but immunity from natural infection does not protect against reinfection with the same strain, and the goal of a protective vaccine remains elusive. Gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum is the most common manifestation in infants born to mothers with gonococcal genital tract infections. Genital and pharyngeal gonococcal infections in young children almost always are acquired from sexual abuse by an infected adult. Invasive disease can occur at any age but is uncommon. Nonculture diagnostic tests are widely used in adults, but culture is required in children for medicolegal purposes. N. gonorrhoeae strains have developed resistance to many antibiotic classes, and resistance profiles vary among geographic regions and within regions over time. Current guidelines for treatment of gonococcal infections in children in the United States are reviewed.
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