An in vitro system was used to study the ability of virulent gonococci to adhere to vaginal epithelial cells obtained from healthy donors during the pre- and postmenstrual phases, and from those in early pregnancy. It was found that more gonococci adhered to the cells from donors in the postmenstrual phase than to cells from those in the premenstrual one. This difference was statistically highly significant. The attachment rate of gonococci to vaginal epithelial cells was similar in early pregnancy and in the premenstrual phase.

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The adherence of Neisseriagonorrhoeae, Escherichiacoli and group B streptococci to vaginal epithelial cells from post-menopausal women was studied by an invitro test system. It was found that the adherence rate of gonococci to vaginal cells from women on oestrogen treatment was statistically significantly higher (p < 0.001) as compared to those without such a treatment. No increased adherence was found for E. coli and group B streptococci. The cellular and functional bases of these findings are discussed.

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SUMMARY The incidence of acute gonococcal and nongonococcal salpingitis for a five-year-period (1970-74) was studied retrospectively in an urban area of central Sweden. The investigation was undertaken to see if the reported decrease of gonorrhoea in Sweden had been followed by a change in the incidence of gonococcal salpingitis-the most common complication of gonorrhoea. The study showed that the relative incidence of acute gonococcal salpingitis had decreased even more than urogenital gonorrhoea and these findings thus indicate a real decrease of gonorrhoea. At the same time there were more patients with nongonococcal salpingitis. During the period of the study the gonococcal complement-fixation test (GCFT) gave positive results in 40% to 80% of the patients with gonococcal salpingitis. The yield with this test was only 4% in patients with nongonococcal salpingitis during 1970 but it increased successively and was 23 % in 1974. This increase was statistically highly significant (P<0 001).