Abstract
Objectives: To conduct a sentinel surveillance study for antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Western Europe in 2004 as part of the European Surveillance of Sexually Transmitted Infections (ESSTI) Programme. Methods: Gonococcal isolates were collected from centres in 12 countries and transferred to two reference centres for testing. The same methodology of agar dilution was used to determine susceptibility to a range of antimicrobials used for the treatment of gonorrhoea including azithromycin, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, penicillin and tetracycline. Quality control between the two laboratories was assessed during the testing. Results: A total of 1055 gonococcal isolates were collected, of which 965 (91.5%) were retrievable for susceptibility testing. Resistance was found to be high to ciprofloxacin (30.9%), but also present to penicillin (21.3%) and tetracycline (59.8%). Azithromycin resistance was above 5%, the first time this has been documented in Europe. Three isolates had a low level of resistance to ceftriaxone. With regard to quality control between the two reference laboratories, 92% of MIC results were within two dilutions. Conclusions: These are the first sentinel surveillance data for Western Europe for N. gonorrhoeae and they have implications for choice of antimicrobial for treatment of gonorrhoea on a European and a local level. This is the start of the formation of a European gonococcal antimicrobial surveillance programme (EURO-GASP).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 587-593 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy |
| Volume | 58 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2006 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The European Surveillance of Sexually Transmitted Infections (ESSTI) Programme was established in 2002 with funding from the European Commission (DG SANCO) to determine the feasibility of establishing epidemiological and laboratory surveillance for STIs within Western Europe. In 2004 ESSTI collaborators undertook a sentinel surveillance study to determine the prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant N. gonorrhoeae in Western Europe.
Funding Information:
This work was part presented at the Health Protection Agency Annual Conference, September 2005, Warwick University, UK. It was also presented at the International Society for Sexually Transmitted Disease Research 10–13 July 2005, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Abstract WP-002). This work was funded by Bayer Healthcare.
Keywords
- Antimicrobial resistance
- Antimicrobial surveillance
- Ciprofloxacin
- GASP
- Gonococci
