(iStock)It may be possible to pass gonorrhea through kissing, challenging the widely accepted notion that the sexually transmitted disease is spread almost exclusively through sexual contact, a new study says. Researchers in Australia found that kissing with tongue may be a way to transmit oropharyngeal gonorrhea, or oral gonorrhea, particularly among gay and bisexual men. [‘Our greatest fear’: Highly drug-resistant gonorrhea confirmed by health officials]Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. But gonorrhea — even oral gonorrhea — is not considered to be a kissing disease; rather, public health authorities say oral gonorrhea is contracted through oral sex. The researchers found that those with a higher number of kissing-only and kissing-with-sex partners were at a greater risk of testing positive for oral gonorrhea, the study said.

Source: Washington Post May 09, 2019 22:30 UTC