Repeated infections with Neisseria gonorrhoeae in a population of Alaska natives

Medical and laboratory records of 171 Alaska Natives were studied retrospectively, and the incidence of repeated infections with Neisseria gonorrhoeae was determined. Thirty-four per cent of the subjects had more than one gonorrheal infection within 18 months. The largest proportion of reinfections occurred within a relatively short period of time following the most recent previous infection: 29.3% within the first six weeks and, greater than 50% within 15 weeks. Men aged greater than or equal to 30 years were 2.4 times more likely than women in the same age group to acquire reinfections. The rate of reinfection for teenage women was nearly twice that for older women. Goodness-of-fit tests indicated the existence of a group of chronic repeaters responsible for a large number of reinfections.