Gonorrhea screening program in New York State.

Of 171,089 mailed specimens examined for Neisseria gonorrhoeae, 88% were submitted by family planning clinics, physicians in private practice, and other non-VD clinics. To process a large volume of specimen bottles, we developed a swab-oxidase test and demonstrated it to be reliable for the initial screening of all specimens. Our protocol permitted the isolation and confirmation by sugar fermentation of 95% of all presumed N. gonorrhoeae cultures within 1 or 2 days after growth was observed. The results obtained over a 2-year period indicate that the positivity rate is directly related to the lag period between specimen collection and examination. There was no adverse effect of cold weather on the positivity rate, but, irrespective of the season, 3 to 9% of the positive specimens required incubation for 3 days before gonococcal growth appeared.