RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the pharynx and saliva: implications for gonorrhoea transmission JF Sexually Transmitted Infections JO Sex Transm Infect FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd SP 347 OP 349 DO 10.1136/sextrans-2015-052399 VO 92 IS 5 A1 Eric P F Chow A1 David Lee A1 Sepehr N Tabrizi A1 Samuel Phillips A1 Anthony Snow A1 Stuart Cook A1 Benjamin P Howden A1 Irene Petalotis A1 Catriona S Bradshaw A1 Marcus Y Chen A1 Christopher K Fairley YR 2016 UL http://sti.bmj.com/content/92/5/347.abstract AB Objectives This study aimed to determine the proportion of untreated pharyngeal swabs or saliva samples positive by culture or nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) for Neisseria gonorrhoeae up to 14 days after an initial culture-positive pharyngeal swab.Methods Men who have sex with men who tested positive for pharyngeal gonorrhoea at Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC) and returned to MSHC for treatment within 14 days between 13 October 2014 and 25 March 2015 were included in this study. Pharyngeal swabs and saliva samples were collected for culture and NAAT.Results Of 33 initially culture-positive pharyngeal swabs, 32 saliva samples and 31 pharyngeal swabs were positive by NAAT and 14 pharyngeal and 6 saliva samples were positive by culture within 14 days. There was a significant decline in the proportion of repeated pharyngeal culture samples positive by culture over time (p<0.001).Conclusions The rapid decline suggests pharyngeal gonorrhoea is short-lived, and the finding of gonorrhoea commonly in the saliva implicates this body fluid in its transmission without direct throat inoculation.