SEROVAR SPECIFIC IMMUNITY TO NEISSERIA-GONORRHOEAE - DOES IT EXIST

Objective-To determine whether the host immune response to gonorrhoea provides limited serovar specific protection from reinfection. Subject s-508 episodes of gonorrhoea diagnosed at a city centre genitourinary medicine clinic including 22 patients with multiple infections over a 4 year period. Methods-Patients with recurrent gonococcal infection we re analysed with respect to the initial and subsequent serovars isolat ed. Results-No significant difference was seen in the prevalence of se rovars isolated following a repeat infection compared with those witho ut repeat infections. The site of the initial infection did not appear to influence the subsequent serovar isolated. Conclusion-We found no evidence of serovar specific immunity in our population. It remains po ssible that populations with a higher prevalence of gonorrhoea and mor e frequent infections may have a quantitatively greater immune respons e.