Antimicrobial susceptibilities of Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains isolated in Java, Indonesia.
BACKGROUND
Despite the rapid spread of antibiotic resistance in gonococci all over Southeast Asia, there is only limited surveillance for antibiotic susceptibility in Indonesia.


OBJECTIVE
This study was undertaken to determine the frequency and diversity of antimicrobial resistance in gonococcal isolates from cohorts of female commercial sex workers in Bandung and Jakarta, Indonesia, and to characterize the Tet M plasmid among the tetracycline-resistant strains N gonorrhoeae.


METHODS
The antimicrobial susceptibility of 267 strains (85 strains from Bandung and 182 from Jakarta) to penicillin, spectinomycin, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, cefotaxime, thiamphenicol, kanamycin, azithromycin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ) was determined by agar dilution. Typing of the Tet M plasmid in tetracycline-resistant isolates was performed by PCR.


RESULTS
Prevalence of penicillin and tetracycline resistance was extremely high: 60.0% of the isolates from Bandung and 70.9% of the isolates from Jakarta were resistant to penicillin. Of these, 60.0% and 62.1%, respectively, were penicillinase-producing N gonorrhoeae (PPNG). All the isolates from Bandung and 98.4% from Jakarta were resistant to tetracycline. All tetracycline-resistant isolates from Bandung and 97.8% from Jakarta carried a PCR fragment characteristic of the "Dutch" type Tet M plasmid. One isolate from Jakarta showed chromosomal resistance to tetracycline (0.6%). Chromosomal resistance to thiamphenicol (MIC, >/=2.0 microg/ml) was significantly higher in Jakarta than in Bandung (P < 0.05). All gonococcal isolates were susceptible to kanamycin, spectinomycin, cefotaxime, ciprofloxacin, and azithromycin.


CONCLUSIONS
Spectinomycin, fluoroquinolones, and azithromycin are still useful primary drugs for treatment of gonococcal infections in Indonesia. Continued surveillance of antimicrobial susceptibility should be part of gonorrhea control in Indonesia.
Ieven
Margareta
M
Department of Medical Microbiology, University Hospital Antwerp, UIA, Antwerp, Belgium. Greet.Ieven@uza.be
Van Looveren
Marleen
M
Sudigdoadi
Sunarjati
S
Rosana
Yeva
Y
Goossens
Wendy
W
Lammens
Christine
C
Meheus
André
A
Goossens
Hernan
H
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D005260:Female; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007214:Indonesia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010403:Penicillin Resistance; D010406:Penicillins / Q000494:pharmacology; D015995:Prevalence; D011477:Sex Work; D013752:Tetracycline / Q000494:pharmacology; D013753:Tetracycline Resistance
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D010406:Penicillins; D013752:Tetracycline