This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Increased resistance to ciprofloxacin observed in gonorrhea among MSM

Add topic to email alerts

Receive an email when new articles are posted on

Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on .

Subscribe

Added to email alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

Back to Healio

We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com.

Back to Healio

Recent data indicate an increasing resistance to ciprofloxacin in Neisseria gonorrhoeae, especially among men who have sex with men.

“As treatment failures for oral cephalosporins are documented in Asia, and strains with reduced susceptibility to cephalosporins have begun to appear in the West, including the United States, the origins and causes of increased drug resistance in N. gonorrhoeae need to be understood in order to improve control measures for emerging resistant strains and thereby maintain the utility of the few existing antimicrobial drug options for treatment of gonorrhea,” the researchers wrote.

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health used data from the Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project to study ciprofloxacin resistance in N. gonorrhoeae in the United States from 2002 to 2007. Data included in this project include sexual orientation, travel history and resistance to ciprofloxacin, penicillin and tetracycline.

Among MSM, resistance reached higher levels compared to heterosexual men. At peak, the resistance rate was 42.5% for MSM and 9.1% for heterosexual men. Strains resistant to ciprofloxacin, tetracycline and penicillin were the fastest-growing class of ciprofloxacin-resistant strains among MSM. Strains resistant to only ciprofloxacin were also more prevalent among MSM.

Recent travel did not have any effect on the prevalence of strains resistant to ciprofloxacin among MSM, but travel was related to an increase in the prevalence of strains resistant to ciprofloxacin among heterosexual men.

“Our study on the rise of ciprofloxacin resistance sheds some light on the possible mechanisms that might contribute to the emergence of cephalosporin resistance,” the researchers wrote. “Importation of resistance and acquisition through domestic travel are likely to play a substantial role in the initial rise in resistance levels.”

References:

Goldstein E. Emerg Infect Dis. 2012;18.

Disclosures:

The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.