With tens of millions of annual cases, gonorrhea is the second most frequently reported sexually transmitted infection (STI). In the U.S. alone, more than 600,000 cases are reported each year. If left untreated, gonorrhea can result in severe reproductive health issues, including infertility in both women and men and pelvic inflammatory disease. The infection also increases the risk of HIV transmission, and—if the pathogen spreads from the genitals or throat to other parts of the body—it can damage the heart and cause meningitis and sepsis.

The major challenge in more effectively controlling the disease lies in the ability of the responsible pathogen, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, to rapidly develop resistance to newly available antibiotics.