Gonorrhea guide: Prevention and control

Last partial content update: November 2025

Information about general STBBI prevention and control was modified to align with content in the STBBI-associated syndromes guide and STBBI prevention guide.

A note about consideration of doxycycline for the prevention of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis was incorporated, along with a link to the biomedical prevention page in the STBBI prevention guide.

This information is captured in the table of updates to the guides.

On this page

• General Sexually transmitted and blood-borne infection (STBBI) prevention and control
• Prevention and control of gonorrhea
• References

General Sexually transmitted and blood-borne infection (STBBI) prevention and control

Effective prevention strategies can reduce the impact of STBBI.

Encouraging the use of barrier devices, facilitating safer substance use practices^{Footnote 1 Footnote 2}, and offering vaccinations and other biomedical prevention strategies (e.g., HIV pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis (HIV PrEP/ HIV PEP), doxycycline prophylaxis) are components of comprehensive STBBI prevention services.

Healthcare providers should offer STBBI screening as part of their prevention and control strategies. Since many STBBI are frequently asymptomatic and can lead to serious complications if left undiagnosed and untreated, offer STBBI screening in the course of routine medical care, with special attention to those with risk factors. Normalizing screening in this way can reduce barriers to screening/testing and stigma associated with STBBIs.

Motivational interviewing techniques may be used to identify barriers to prevention practices and the means to overcome them.

Partner notification has public health benefits (e.g. disease surveillance and control), can prevent complications for partner(s), and reduces the risk of re-infection for the index case.

Prevention and control of gonorrhea

Measures to prevent and control the transmission of N. gonorrhoeae include counselling, considerations of prophylactic doxycycline, prompt diagnosis and treatment of the person and their sexual partners.

For current recommendations about the prophylactic use of doxycycline for the prevention of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, refer to the biomedical prevention page in the STBBI prevention guide. Rates of tetracycline resistance in gonorrhea are high in Canada, which may limit the effectiveness of doxycycline for preventing gonorrhea compared to syphilis or chlamydia.

Counsel people with suspected or confirmed gonorrhea about:

• Consistent practice of safer sex (e.g., use of barrier methods such as condoms and dental dams for vaginal, anal and oral sex, cleaning toys prior to use and avoiding sharing sex toys)
• Clinical manifestations of the infection
• The importance of STBBI screening
• Vulnerability to other STBBIs
• The benefits of partner notification
• Potential for transmission to sexual partners who may be asymptomatic
• Possibility of reinfection
• Avoiding sexual contact with untreated partners
• The importance of the treatment
• Prevention of reproductive sequelae
• Avoiding sexual contact with untreated partners
• The importance of test of cure
• Prevention of ophthalmia neonatorum by detection and treatment of gonococcal infection during pregnancy