Enhanced surveillance for gonorrhoea in two diverse settings in Queensland in the 2000s: comparative epidemology and selected management outcomes

Gonorrhoea is an important sexually transmitted notifiable condition. This paper describes findings from 2 gonorrhoea enhanced surveillance programs operating during the 2000s in Queensland: one in the remote Torres and Northern Peninsula Area (T&NPA); the other in an urban region. The overall response rate in the T&NPA (2006–2011) was 82% (723 of 879), and in Brisbane Southside and West Moreton (BSWM) (2003–2011), it was 62% (1,494 of 2,401 notifications). In the T&NPA, cases were young (80% <25 years), Indigenous (97%) and 44% were male. In the BSWM, cases were predominantly male (76%), non-Indigenous (92%) and 42% were aged less than 25 years. Co-infection with chlamydia was found in 54% of males and 60% of females in the Torres, and in 18% of males and 35% of females in the BSWM. In the BSWM 35% of the men without a syphilis test recorded had reported sexual contact with men; similarly 34% of the men without an HIV test recorded had reported sexual contact with men. Compliance with recommended treatment (ceftriaxone) was greater than 90% in all years except 2008 (84%) in the T&NPA. Treatment compliance increased significantly, from 40% in 2003 to 84.4% in 2011 (P