Abstract
While ceftriaxone remains the first-line treatment for gonorrhea, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended cefixime as a second-line treatment in 2021. We tested 1176 Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates among clients attending the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre in 2021 and 2022. The prevalence of cefixime resistance was 6.3% (74/1176), azithromycin resistance was 4.9% (58/1176), and ceftriaxone resistance was 0% (0/1176). Cefixime resistance was highest among women (16.4%, 10/61), followed by men who have sex with women (6.4%, 7/109) and men who have sex with men (5.8%, 57/982). The prevalence of cefixime-resistant N gonorrhoeae exceeds the threshold of the 5% resistance level recommended by the World Health Organization; thus, cefixime treatment would have limited benefits in Australia.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | e1121-e1125 |
Journal | Journal of Infectious Diseases |
Volume | 230 |
Issue number | 5 |
Early online date | 15 Jun 2024 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 15 Nov 2024 |
Keywords
- Humans
- Neisseria gonorrhoeae/drug effects
- Cefixime/pharmacology
- Male
- Gonorrhea/epidemiology
- Female
- Anti-bacterial agents/pharmacology
- Prevalence
- Australia/epidemiology
- Adult
- Microbial sensitivity tests
- Ceftriaxone/pharmacology
- Young adult
- Drug resistance, bacterial - drug effects
- Adolescent
- Azithromycin/pharmacology