Sexual contact in children with gonorrhea

D. L. Ingram, S. T. White, M. F. Durfee and A. W. Pearson

This study was performed to determine if gonorrheal infections in children aged 1 to 12 years were frequently associated with sexual contacts. In our study all 14 children who had gonorrhea and who were over 4 years of age and 35% (six) of the 17 children who had gonorrhea and who were between 1 and 4 years old were found to have had sexual contact with older males who were almost always in the extended family. Our study supports the concept that gonorrhea in children over 4 years old is almost always associated with sexual contact. In children between 1 and 4 years old, a history of sexual contact is more difficult to obtain but may be elicited in more than a third of the cases. Hospitalization of the children and identification of extended family members with gonorrhea, followed by additional interviews, were useful procedures in determining who had had sexual contact with the children.