Gonorrhoea is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and it can infect the genitals, rectum, and throat (Wikipedia, CDC). The short answer to your three questions: it spreads through sexual contact with an infected person, the test that confirms it is a laboratory test on a sample taken from the likely site of infection, and yes, it is treatable. This page gives you the specifics behind each of those answers so you can act on them.
What gonorrhoea is and how it spreads
Gonorrhoea is an STI caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and infection may involve the genitals, mouth, or rectum (Wikipedia). The NHS describes it as a sexually transmitted infection passed on through unprotected sex, meaning sex without a condom (NHS).
Gonorrhoea is spread through sexual contact with an infected person, or from a mother to a child during birth (Wikipedia). That means the route of transmission is sexual contact. The infection passes between people during sex. And it can also pass from a mother to her baby during delivery. Because the bacterium can infect the throat and rectum as well as the genitals, sexual contact involving those sites is part of how it moves between people (CDC).
Symptoms: what to look for, and why silence matters
Symptoms, when they appear, usually start around 2 weeks after infection, although they sometimes do not appear until many months later (NHS). Infected men may experience pain or burning with urination, discharge from the penis, or testicular pain (Wikipedia). Infected women may experience burning with urination, vaginal discharge, vaginal bleeding between periods, or pelvic pain (Wikipedia).
The condition that changes the picture is that gonorrhoea can be silent. Even when a woman has symptoms, they are often mild and can be mistaken for a bladder or vaginal infection (CDC). Rectal infections may either cause no symptoms or cause symptoms in both men and women (CDC). Because symptoms can be absent or easy to misread, the NHS advises that it is important to get tested if you think you might have it (NHS). You should also see a provider if your partner has an STI or symptoms of one (CDC).
The test that confirms gonorrhoea
The test that confirms gonorrhoea is a laboratory test performed on a sample taken from the site where infection is suspected. The genitals, rectum, or throat. Because the bacterium can infect each of those areas (CDC, Wikipedia). In practice, that means a clinician takes a sample from the relevant site and it is analysed in a lab to identify Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
Where you get it: you go to a healthcare provider or sexual health service and ask for testing, and the NHS route is to get tested if you think you might have it (NHS). The detail that changes the answer is which site gets sampled. Because infection may involve the genitals, mouth, or rectum (Wikipedia), the sample needs to come from the site relevant to your exposure. A throat or rectal infection will not be picked up by a genital sample alone. Tell your provider what kind of sex you have had so the right sites are tested.
Treatment: it is treatable
Gonorrhoea is treatable. The direct answer is that a confirmed infection is managed with treatment prescribed by a healthcare provider, and the practical step is to get tested and then follow the treatment your provider gives you (NHS, CDC).
The condition that changes the answer is timing and follow-through. Because symptoms can be mild, mistaken for something else, or absent entirely (CDC), waiting for symptoms to push you into care can leave an infection untreated. Testing is what converts a suspicion into a confirmed diagnosis that treatment can act on. Is why the NHS stresses getting tested if you think you might have it (NHS).
Preventing gonorrhoea: the steps that reduce risk
Prevention comes down to barrier protection during sex and testing when there is a reason to. Gonorrhoea is passed on through unprotected sex, meaning sex without a condom (NHS). Using a condom is the barrier step that reduces transmission risk. Testing is the second step: get tested if you think you might have it (NHS), and see a provider if your partner has an STI or symptoms of one (CDC).
The condition that changes the answer is that prevention is not only about the genitals. Because infection may involve the genitals, mouth, or rectum (Wikipedia), barrier protection and testing need to cover the sites involved in your sex life, not just vaginal or anal sex. Here is the sequence to work through:
- Use a condom for sex to reduce the risk of passing on or catching gonorrhoea, since it is passed on through sex without a condom (NHS).
- Get tested if you think you might have been exposed, rather than waiting for symptoms (NHS).
- See a healthcare provider if your partner has an STI or symptoms of one (CDC).
- Tell your provider which sites are relevant — genitals, mouth, or rectum — so the sample is taken from the right place (CDC, Wikipedia).
Where this leaves you
You now have the three answers you came for: gonorrhoea spreads through sexual contact with an infected person (and from mother to child during birth), the confirming test is a laboratory test on a sample from the relevant site, and it is treatable. The stop boundary is simple: if you think you might have been exposed, get tested rather than waiting for symptoms, because gonorrhoea can be silent or mild enough to be mistaken for something else (NHS, CDC).