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Question answered:04/06/07 Warning! this question is over two years old.
We found a number of articles on this topic, although none reported a very long incubation period. A 1982 article [1] reported:
“In a retrospective study of clinic records containing accurate information on the dates of infection and onset of symptoms, the mean (+/- SEM) incubation period of gonorrhea in men was 6.2 +/- 3.8 days and the mean duration of symptoms (3.1 +/- 2.3 days. For non-specific urethritis the mean (+/- SEM) figures were 7.7 +/- 4.1 and 4.0 +/- 3.4 days respectively; both were significantly longer than for gonorrhoea.”
A document on gonorrhoea and non-specific genital infections, published on an NHS Newcastle website [2] reports an incubation period, non-gonococcal urethritis of 2-3 (1-5) weeks.
Another report [3], on the Flesh and Bones website, has a section on non-gonococcal urethritis/non-specific urethritis. With regard to incubation period it reports:
“When present, symptoms are those of urethritis, occurring 1–5 weeks after sexual contact
The incubation period of NGU is often longer, and the discharge less purulent, than that of gonococcal urethritis, but these differences do not permit diagnosis on clinical grounds”
For further information, we recommend you speak to the Centre for Infections at the Health Protection Agency. Their duty doctor should have access to specialised databases that might reveal more information. The phone number is 020 8200 4400.
References
1) Schofield CB. Some factors affecting the incubation period and duration of symptoms of urethritis in men. Br J Vener Dis. 1982 Jun;58(3):184-7. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=7082980)
2) http://www.gumnewcastle.nhs.uk/downloaddoc.asp?id=243
3) http://www.fleshandbones.com/readingroom/pdf/989.pdf
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