Characteristics of gonococci isolated from men with urethritis in Dubai.
Neisseria gonorrhoeae were collected from men attending out-patient clinics in Dubai. The susceptibility to a range of therapeutic antibiotics and their auxotype and serotype was determined. The plasmid content of all penicillinase-producing strains was also analysed. Thirty-six strains of N. gonorrhoeae were isolated from specimens collected from 79 patients over a 24-day period. Of the 36 isolates, 9(25%) were penicillinase-producing N. gonorrhoeae (PPNG) and 15 (42%) were chromosomally resistant N. gonorrhoeae (CMRNG). CMRNG exhibited higher levels of resistance to cefuroxime, chloramphenicol, tetracycline and erythromycin than PPNG. All isolates were susceptible to ceftriaxone and spectinomycin. Three (8%) isolates showed reduced susceptibility (MIC, > or = 0.25 mg/l) to ciprofloxacin. Six isolates of PPNG carried the 4.4 MD and three the 3.2 MD penicillinase encoding plasmid. The total gonococcal population was phenotypically diverse, with 12 serovars, 6 auxotypes and 21 A/S classes. Gonorrhoea was found to be a major cause of urethritis in Dubai and the strains exhibited high levels of resistance to penicillin.
Al-Hattawi
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Department of Medical Microbiology, St. Mary's Hospital Medical School, Paddington, London, UK.
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012703:Serotyping; D014479:United Arab Emirates / Q000453:epidemiology; D014526:Urethritis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents