A Clinical Isolate of Neisseria gonorrhoeae With In Vitro Resistance to Erythromycin and Decreased Susceptibility to Azithromycin

Background and Objectives: Erythromycin is a recommended treatment for penicillin-allergic pregnant women with gonorrhea, and azithromycin has been suggested as therapy for coexisting gonococcal and chlamydial infections. Although gonococcal resistance to erythromycin is not uncommon, decreased resi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sexually transmitted diseases 1996-07, Vol.23 (4), p.270-272
Main Authors: EHRET, JOSEPHINE M., NIMS, LINDA J., JUDSON, FRANKLYN N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use
Antibiotics
Azithromycin - therapeutic use
Bacterial diseases
Biological and medical sciences
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
Drug resistance
Drug Resistance, Microbial
Drug therapy
Erythromycin
Gonorrhea - drug therapy
Gonorrhea - microbiology
Human bacterial diseases
Humans
Infectious diseases
Male
Medical sciences
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Miscellaneous
Original Articles
Population Surveillance
Sexually transmitted diseases
STD
United States
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Summary:Background and Objectives: Erythromycin is a recommended treatment for penicillin-allergic pregnant women with gonorrhea, and azithromycin has been suggested as therapy for coexisting gonococcal and chlamydial infections. Although gonococcal resistance to erythromycin is not uncommon, decreased resistance to azithromycin is rare. A clinical isolate of Neisseria gonorrhoeae with in vitro resistance to erythromycin and decreased susceptibility to azithromycin is reported. Study Design: This is a case report. Results: Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of a clinical isolate of N. gonorrhoeae revealed a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 2 μg/ml to azitthromycin and 32 μg/ml to erythromycin. Five hundred other urethral isolates were tested, resulting in an MIC for erythromycin ranging from 0.015 to 2 μg/ml. The range for azithromycin was 0.015 to 0.5 μg/ml. There was a strong correlation between erythromycin and azithromycin MICs (r = 0.73; P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Continued national monitoring is needed to de tect the appearance and early dissemination of new types of gonococcal resistance.
ISSN:0148-5717
1537-4521
DOI:10.1097/00007435-199607000-00004