title: Prevalence of Neisseria gonorrhea and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns among symptomatic women attending gynecology outpatient department in Hawassa referral hospital, Hawassa, Ethiopia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Gonorrhoeae, a sexually transmitted disease caused by Neisseria gonorrhea for which humans are the only natural host. The causative organism is highly adapted to the genital tract and often causing asymptomatic and undetected infection in females in which Acquisition of gonococcal infection late in pregnancy can adversely affect labor and delivery as well as the well-being of the fetus. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence and drug susceptibility pattern of Neisseria gonorrhea among symptomatic women in Hawassa Referral Hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 1 2010 to February 30, 2011 at Hawassa Referral Hospital. All women who visited gynecology outpatient department (OPD) with suspected gonococcal infection were included. Endocervical swab was collected by the attending physician. The presence of gonorrhea was confirmed by culture, gram staining and biochemical tests. Antimicrobial sensitivity test was performed using disc diffusion method and the result was interpreted accordingly.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the total 215 cases examined, 11 (5.1%) were confirmed to have gonococcal infection. Although not statistically significant, most of the cases 5/11 (45.5%) were in age group of 20-24 years and the identified organism had low level susceptibility to quinolones (ciprofloxacin 55%, ofloxacin 64% & lomefloxacin 64%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite low rates of gonorrhea infection, it is important to focus on high-risk populations (reproductive age group) because of the great physical and emotional costs of the disease. A high resistance for quinolones, the commonly used antibiotics was observed for this laboratory-based diagnosis is recommended.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences. mengemariamzenebe@gmail.com
authors.forename: Mengistu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hailemariam
authors.forename: Tamrat
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abebe
authors.forename: Adane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mihret
authors.forename: Tariku
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lambiyo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D052978:Disk Diffusion Antimicrobial Tests; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000187:drug effects*; D009775:Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: Neisseria gonorrhea; Southern Ethiopia; drug susceptibility; symptomatic women
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