Number of men reported with gonorrhoea in the past 12 months

Export Indicator

Number of men reported with gonorrhoea in the past 12 monthsSTI Pilot Indicators (to be reported by PAHO and EMRO countries only)
What it measures

Progress in reducing unprotected sex in men.

Rationale

Infection with an acute bacterial STI such as gonorrhoea is a marker of unprotected sexual intercourse and facilitates HIV transmission and acquisition. Therefore, surveillance for gonorrhoea contributes to second-generation HIV surveillance through providing early warning of the epidemic potential of HIV from sexual transmission and on-going high-risk sexual activity that may need more aggressive programme interventions to reduce risk. Furthermore, untreated gonorrhoea can result in pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, infertility, blindness, and disseminated disease. Increasing resistance to currently recommended treatment options may render this infection untreatable.

Numerator

Number of men reported with gonorrhoea during the reporting period

Denominator

Number of males aged 15 and older per UNPD

Calculation
Method of measurement

Routine health information systems

Data Quality Control and Notes for the Reporting Tool: Recommended indicator in: “Strategies and laboratory methods for strengthening surveillance of sexually transmitted infection 2012”

Measurement frequency
Disaggregation
Explanation of the numerator
Explanation of the denominator
Strengths and weaknesses

Although WHO has provided a global case definition, actual case definition may vary between and within countries. Furthermore, diagnostic capacity may vary between and within countries. Although underreporting of this indicator may occur, in the absence of changes in case definition or major changes in screening practices, these data can generally be used for following trends over time within a country.

Additional considerations: It is important that countries when reporting on gonorrhoea communicate on the extent to which the data are felt to be representative of the national population.
Data on gonorrhoea among women, although useful for monitoring purposes at a local and national level, are not requested at the global level because the majority of women infected with Neisseria gonorrhoeae are asymptomatic and sensitive diagnostic tests for gonorrhoea in women are not widely available in developing countries. Therefore data on gonorrhoea among women are felt to be too dependent on diagnostic resources and screening practices to be monitored appropriately at the global level.

Data Utilization: Look at trends in comparable groups over time.

Further information