Gonorrhea Testing

Tell me about the gonorrhea test. Will I have to get swabbed?

The Gonorrhea Nucleic Acid Amplification (NAA) Test is a molecular test highly recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for its accuracy. There’s no swabbing - all you do is pee into a cup. This test is based on amplification of the DNA that is found in Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The advantage of molecular tests is that they are generally more sensitive and specific than conventional culture (swabs) and can identify more positive specimens.

What does the test result mean?

A positive test shows an active gonorrhea infection. Treatment with a course of antibiotics will cure the infection.

A negative test means only that there is no sign of infection at the time of the test. New studies have shown that if you are sexually active, you should get tested for gonorrhea and other STDs before every new sexual relationship. Re-infection is very common.

If you are infected, your sexual partner(s) should also be tested and treated as well.

Once cured, you should be tested again in 3 months.

This is called a "test of cure." Even though you were treated for gonorrhea, you could be at risk for re-infection, especially if your partner has not been treated. The best way to be 100% sure that you haven’t been re-infected by a partner who may have failed to get properly treated is to get tested for gonorrhea and other STDs again.