Highly Azithromycin-Resistant Gonococcus Identified in the U.S.

This discovery bodes ill for treatment of gonorrhea.

Since the emergence of penicillin-resistant gonococci in the 1970s, Neisseria gonorrhoeae has shown an amazing ability to develop resistance to each new antibiotic regimen used against it. Current recommended therapy for acute N. gonorrhoeae infection involves a third-generation cephalosporin coupled with azithromycin or doxycycline. Recently, the CDC reported an increase in gonococcal isolates with reduced susceptibility to some cephalosporins (JW Infect Dis Jul 20 2011), as well as numerous isolates with reduced susceptibility to azithromycin (minimal inhibitory concentration [MIC], 8–16 µg/mL). Now, investigators report the first isolation in the U.S. of N. gonorrhoeae with high-level resistance to azithromycin.

The index patient was a 21…

Reviewing Author

Stephen G. Baum, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardClinical Infectious Diseases

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsMedical Letter

Stephen G. Baum, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardClinical Infectious Diseases

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsMedical Letter

Highly Azithromycin-Resistant Gonococcus Identified in the U.S.

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Reviewing Author