A woman in her 50s has died from a rare complication of gonorrhea, known as disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI), which has been increasing in frequency in the state of Alaska. The Department of Health’s epidemiology section reported that she was one of eight Alaskans identified with DGI between January and May this year.
According to Dr. Liz Ohlsen, a staff physician with the Alaska Department of Health, the woman had been treated twice for opioid abuse but never tested for gonorrhea before her death. This lack of testing and treatment puts people at risk of developing more serious complications from untreated gonorrhea.
Ohlsen notes that while gonorrhea is curable with antibiotics, some infected individuals may not show symptoms and therefore miss testing and treatment. This increases the risk of their untreated gonorrhea developing into DGI.
The Alaska Department of Health is urging Alaskans with multiple sexual partners or those with a partner who has multiple partners to be tested for gonorrhea regularly. The department’s concerns are that a particular strain may be circulating in Alaska that is less likely to cause symptoms, which could explain the rise in DGI cases.
Gonorrhea remains a significant public health concern in Alaska, with consistently high rates of infection and other sexually transmitted infections. In 2024, the state reported a spike in DGI cases, with 27 cases identified, representing 1.3% of total reported gonorrhea cases.
DGI can cause serious complications, including joint or tendon problems, heart infections, and meningitis, which is a potentially fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. While deaths from DGI are rare, the more cases that occur, the higher the risk of serious complications or death.
Source: https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2025/07/02/rare-complication-from-gonorrhea-infection-results-in-alaska-death