About the NC Center of Excellence for Gonorrhea

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The North Carolina Gonorrhea Center of Excellence aims to supply resources to health care providers, health departments, and community members to support prevention and treatment of gonorrhea (GC), as well as identify and respond to outbreaks, especially in cases of antibiotic resistant gonorrhea (ARGC).

The CDC states that “Gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported bacterial communicable disease” and that “about half of all infections each year are resistant to at least one antibiotic”¹. In 2016, Strengthening the United States Response to Resistance Gonorrhea (SURRG) began with the goal to stop the spread of these resistant infections by improving GC surveillance, preparedness, and response capacity.

The NC Gonorrhea Center of Excellence is supported by the Guilford County, NC jurisdiction of SURRG, located at the Guilford County Health Department in Greensboro, NC, and is collaboratively staffed and supported by the Guilford County Department of Health and Human Services – Division of Public Health, Wake Forest University School of Medicine Section of Infectious Diseases, NC DHHS HIV/STD Prevention and Care, NC DHHS State Laboratory of Public Health, and the CDC.

In order to expand surveillance, we not only utilize our public health clinics for GC testing, but also outreach prevention programs, and partnerships with local emergency departments to improve our ability to detect and respond to ARGC.

Learn more about SURRG here

Footnotes

1. Division of STD Prevention, National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/std/gonorrhea/drug-resistant/carb.htm