Neisseria Gonorrhoeae
My name is Neisseria Gonorrhoeae, and I am responsible for the sexually
transmitted disease known as Gonorrhea. I absolutely hate being alone so I always hang
out with a friend, which is why I have been labeled diplococus. I am also a gram
negative bacterium. Therefore, my outer membrane is made up of proteins, phospholipids
and lipopolysacharides. My best friend is Treponema Pallidum or syphilis, we can
sometimes hang out together inside a human being.
I can infect a human during sexual intercourse or during birth. Babies of humans
who are infected with me can develop conjunctivitis after the birth process. During either
means of infection I use my fimbriae (these handy little legs of mine) to attach to
epithelial cells in the humans and then start to multiply. The adventure begins when I
enter these epithelial cells through a process named “parasite-directed endocytosis”.
During this process the membrane of the mucosal cell pinches off a membrane-bound
vacuole which contains me inside of it. This vacuole is taken to the base of the cell and
then I am released through exocytosis. It’s quite a ride but once I have infected that
human cell I can begin my evil plot to giving them gonorrhea or conjunctivitis.
Once the human has been infected and I have multiplied symptoms will begin to
manifest themselves. Usually, human males with gonorrhea will see a discharge of pus;
they will have pain or difficulty with urination and inflammation of the tissues. In human
females there is usually there is also a discharge and problems with urination but the
discharge is more apparent in males. I can also be very sneaky and some humans may not
even know that I have infected them and will keep spreading my kind around to other
humans. In cases when human females do not know that they are infected with me they
can eventually suffer from Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. I can also infect babies during
the birth process. The mother will pass the infection through the eyes causing
conjunctivitis. This can cause many complications such as blindness in baby humans. As
you can see, I am truly evil.
I am very susceptible to light, temperature changes, drying and UV light, making
me a fragile bacterium. Humans hate me, which is why they have developed a way to be
able to see me under a microscope. Using a “Modified Thayer-Martin culture plate”, my
nemesis, the doctors, can easily identify me under a microscope. This usually leads to my
extermination, a subject I am not too eager to discuss. Once the doctor has identified my
presence in the human they will prescribe the human antibiotics. My kind is usually
killed with the use of Penicillin or Tetracycline.
Humans can avoid my presence in their bodies by using protection during
intercourse and being tested often. Thankfully for me, there are still over one million
humans infected by me every year in the United States alone.