title: Differences in Neisseria gonorrhoeae population structure and antimicrobial resistance pattern between men who have sex with men and heterosexuals.
abstract: This study compared the antimicrobial susceptibility and genotypes of strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolated from men who have sex with men (MSM) and from heterosexuals. One hundred and eleven strains were characterized from 107 patients, comprising 57 strains from 54 heterosexuals and 54 strains from 53 MSM. Antimicrobial resistance rates were higher in strains from heterosexual patients, with resistance to cefixime (P = 0·0159) and ciprofloxacin (P = 0·002) being significantly higher. Typing by N. gonorrhoeae multi-antigen sequence typing (NG-MAST) showed that the most prevalent sequence types (ST) and genogroups (G) respectively were ST2400, ST2992, and ST5793, and G1407, G2992, and G2400. A statistically significant association was observed for MSM and genogroups G2400 (P = 0·0005) and G2992 (P = 0·0488), and G1407 with heterosexuals (P = 0·0002). We conclude that in our region distinct populations of gonococci are circulating among subjects with different sexual practices, with their corresponding transmission patterns. Furthermore, the high prevalence of genotype G2400 in MSM, has not to our knowledge been previously described.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.|Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola, Spain.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Serra-Pladevall
authors.affiliation: Infectious Disease Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Barberá
authors.affiliation: Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Callarisa
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.|Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola, Spain.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bartolomé-Comas
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.|Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andreu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D020010:Heterosexuality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000145:classification* / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000072339:Sexual and Gender Minorities; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: 
                 Neisseria gonorrhoeae
              ; Antimicrobial resistance; population structure; sexual networks