My name is Neisseria gonorrhoeae. I am a gram-negative bacteria, I do not retain the crystal violet dye that humans attempt to stain me with. I am able to grow on chocolate agars in the presence of carbon dioxide. I have an inner cytoplasmic membrane and an outer membrane consisting of proteins, phospholipids and lipooligosaccharide. I am kidney shaped, have a dipplococcus arrangement and I twitch to get around. I am aerobic and have an oxidative metabolism. Pilli are my main virulence factor. My genus is Neisseria and I am related to Neisseria meningitides.
I am an obligate human pathogen, I am only found in humans. I transmit myself while they engage in intercourse, making me a sexually transmitted infection, I am only second to Chlamydia. I cause about 300,000 to 700,000 cases of gonorrhea annually in the United States. Be aware that I may also be transmitted through childbirth. I like really warm areas, you may find me in the urinary tracts, and I can multiply in the uterus, cervix, urethra and throat. I cause humans to have a pus-like discharge from the genitals, which can smell pretty bad. You do not really want to come into contact with me ‘cause I will cause a painful burning sensation every time you urinate. In females I cause a greenish-yellowish discharge and a red, itchy vulva. I may also cause chronic abdominal pain. I am associated with Pelvic Inflammatory disease, which can cause infertility in women. In infants I can cause blindness, a joint infection or a blood infection, which can be life-threatening. In order to get rid of me you would have to use penicillin or use Caftriaxone, an antibiotic. Check out below to see what I look like.
Bibliography
Tortora, G.J., Funke, B.R., (2013) An Introduction to Microbiology. Pearson Education. Glenview, IL http://www.broadinstitute.org/annotation/genome/neisseria_gonorrhoeae/MultiHome.html http://www.ebi.ac.uk/2can/genomes/bacteria/Neisseria_gonorrhoeae.html
