Antibiotic resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolated from gonorrhoeae patients

The objective of this study was to determine antibiotic susceptibility and penicillinase production by Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains isolated from gonorrhoeae patients in Zahedan. In a descriptive study during 2005-2008 years, 400 suspected patients were studied by history review, medical examination, gram staining and culture in Thayer-Martin medium. Antibiotic susceptibility and penicillinase tests of isolated strains were done by disk diffusion method and aciodometric method, respectively. Cultures were positive in 77(19.2%) patients. The resistanat rate against antibiotics were as follow: penicillin (79.2%), ciprofloxacin (53.2%), ceftriaxone(3.8%), spectinomycin(2.5%), cefixime(12.9%), co-trimoxazole(93.5%), tetracycline(88.3%) and gentamicin(29.8%). In the meanwhile, 83.1 percent of penicillin resistant isolates produced penicillinase enzyme. Ceftriaxone, spectinomycin and cefixime are the sole antibiotics that could be considered as selective drugs. Quinolones which were regarded as an effective group of antibiotics recently have lost their importance. Resistance against other antibiotics is rapidly developing, thus, conducting experimental tests and determination of minimum inhibitory concentration and clinical trial studies at fixed intervals can contribute to diagnosis of resistance of gonococci and rapid and successful treatment of their infections in Zahedan region. [ZJRMS, 12(2): 18-23]