title: Antimicrobial susceptibility/resistance and molecular epidemiological characteristics of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in 2009 in Belarus.
abstract: Increased antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a global concern, and ultimately gonorrhoea may become untreatable. Nonetheless, AMR data from East-Europe are scarce beyond Russia, and no AMR data or other characteristics of gonococci have been reported from Belarus for more than 20 years. The aim was to describe the prevalence of AMR, and report molecular epidemiological characteristics of gonococci circulating in 2009 in Belarus. In a sample of 80 isolates, resistance prevalences to antimicrobials used for gonorrhoea treatment in Belarus were: Ceftriaxone 0%, spectinomycin 0%, azithromycin 17.3%, tetracycline 25.9%, ciprofloxacin 34.6% and erythromycin 59.2%. The isolates displayed no penA mosaic alleles, 38 porB gene sequences and 35 N. gonorrhoeae multiantigen sequence types, of which 20 have not been described before worldwide. Due to the high levels of antimicrobial resistance, only ceftriaxone and spectinomycin can be recommended for empirical treatment of gonorrhoea in Belarus according to WHO recommendations. Continuous gonococcal AMR surveillance in Eastern Europe is crucial. This is now initiated in Belarus using WHO protocols.
authors.affiliation: The Republican Research and Practical Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, Minsk, Belarus.
authors.forename: Slavyana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Glazkova
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Golparian
authors.forename: Leonid
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Titov
authors.forename: Nataliya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pankratova
authors.forename: Nataliya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Suhabokava
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shimanskaya
authors.forename: Marius
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Domeika
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Unemo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D005260:Female; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018272:Porins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D002094:Republic of Belarus / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D018272:Porins; C057699:porin protein, Neisseria