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Neisseria gonorrhoeae, first described by Neisser in 1879, is a Gram-negative, nonmotile, nonspore-forming diplococcus, belonging to the family Neisseriaceae. It is the etiologic agent of gonorrhea. The other pathogenic species is Neisseria meningitidis, to which N. gonorrhoeae is genetically closely related. Although N. meningitidis is not usually considered to be a sexually transmitted disease, it may infect the mucous membranes of the anogenital area of homosexual men (1). The other members of the genus, which include Neisseria lactamic a, Neisseriapolysaccharea, Neisseria cinerea, and Neisseria flavescens, which are related to Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and saccharolytic strains, such as Neisseria subflava, Neisseria sicca, and Neisseria mucosa, which are less genetically related to the aforementioned, are considered to be nonpathogenic, being normal flora of the nasopharyngeal mucous membranes (2). |
