Everything You Need to Know About Gonococcal Conjunctivitis

Gonococcal conjunctivitis is pink eye that develops due to a gonorrhea infection. It’s most common in newborns who get it from their birthing parent during delivery. But adults can get it, too, if their eyes come in contact with infected fluids.

Gonococcal conjunctivitis (GC) is a form of pink eye. GC occurs when gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted bacterial infection, spreads from someone’s genitals to another person’s eyes.

GC can also happen when a person with an active gonorrhea infection gives birth. In this case, bacteria from vaginal fluids can pass the infection to the child — even during a cesarean delivery (C-section).

Read on to learn more about what causes GC, symptoms to watch out for, and what’s involved in treatment.

The bacteria Neisseria gonorrhea causes GC. It’s the most common cause of sexually transmitted gonorrhea infections.

GC is spread in two ways:

• from infected fluids in the vagina to a baby during birth
• from infected genital fluids, such as semen, that make contact with someone’s eyes

In newborns

When a baby passes through the birth canal, they’re exposed to the mucus-filled linings (mucosa) of the cervix and urethra. The mucosa can carry high concentrations of gonorrhea bacteria during an active infection, so it’s not uncommon for that bacteria to pass to the baby’s eyes and cause GC.

At the time of delivery, newborns receive topical antibiotics to help prevent GC. But even with this preventive measure, about 10% of babies born to a parent who has an active gonorrhea infection during birth may develop GC. This can happen even during a cesarean delivery.

In adults

GC most commonly passes between adults when bodily fluids from someone who has gonorrhea make contact with someone else’s eyes. This could happen directly, such as if ejaculated semen makes contact with your eyes. It could also occur indirectly, such as if you touch your eyes after touching infected fluids.

Experts also think you can contract GC if you touch an infected object and then touch your eyes. But this is less common because gonorrhea bacteria don’t last long after leaving the body.

Other strains of gonorrhea not linked to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can also cause GC.