Exploring the Prevalence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Women with Genitourinary Symptoms in Tehran, Iran

Restriction endonuclease subunit S (<i>resS</i>, WP_003687768.1) was selected as a specific detection marker. The designed primer pair targeting <i>resS</i> showed specific and reliable detection of <i>N. gonorrhoeae in silico</i> and <i>in vitro</i>. Out of 172 clinical samples, seven (4.06%) cases were infected by <i>N. gonorrhoeae</i>. Statistical analysis of clinical manifestations showed that there was a significant association between the occurrence of <i>N. gonorrhoeae</i> and dysuria (<i>P</i>= 0.043), pelvic pain (<i>P</i>= 0.017), and fever (<i>P</i> = 0.045).Conclusion: Three promising markers were introduced for development of point-of-care testing approaches. Moreover, this study highlights a 4% prevalence of gonorrhea among women with genitourinary symptoms in Iran, which reminds the urgent need for routine surveillance and new policies in management of STIs, particularly gonorrhea.