Which bacterium causes gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted infection that can also affect newborns?

Neisseria gonorrhoeae causes gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted infection that can also affect newborns.

The bacterium is a Gram-negative diplococcus, meaning it commonly appears as pairs of round cells. It infects mucous membranes, especially those of the reproductive tract, throat, and rectum. Many infections produce no obvious symptoms, particularly in some women, which helps the disease spread unnoticed.

Gonorrhea is treated with antibiotics, but resistance has become a major public-health concern. A related species, Neisseria meningitidis, can cause meningitis and bloodstream infections but is not the cause of gonorrhea. Chlamydia trachomatis causes another common sexually transmitted infection and may occur alongside gonorrhea, but it is a different bacterium.