Abstract
BackgroundGonorrhoea and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Neisseria gonorrhoeae are significant public health concerns globally. Nearly no gonococcal AMR data are available from Central Asia, and no data from Kyrgyzstan has been published. We examined, for the first time, AMR and molecular epidemiology of N. gonorrhoeae isolates cultured in Kyrgyzstan in 2012 and 2017, in order to inform refinements of the Kyrgyz national gonorrhoea management guidelines.MethodsN. gonorrhoeae isolates cultured in 2012 (n = 84) and 2017 (n = 72) in Kyrgyzstan were examined. MICs of nine antimicrobials were determined using Etest and, where available, clinical breakpoints from the EUCAST were applied. N. gonorrhoeae multiantigen sequence typing (NG-MAST) was also performed.ResultsThe overall resistance levels were high to ciprofloxacin (88.5%), tetracycline (56.9%), benzylpenicillin (39.1%), and kanamycin (4.7%). Resistance to cefixime (0.6%, n = 1 isolate), azithromycin (0.6%, n = 1), and gentamicin (0.6%, n = 1) was rare. No resistance to ceftriaxone or spectinomycin was found. However, the proportion of isolates with decreased susceptibility (MIC = 0.125 mg/L) to ceftriaxone and cefixime was 12.8 and 11.5%, respectively. Gonococcal isolates were assigned 69 sequence types, of which 52 (75.4%) were new.ConclusionsThe gonococcal population in Kyrgyzstan in 2012 and 2017 showed a high genetic diversity. Ceftriaxone, 500–1000 mg, in combination with azithromycin 2 g or doxycycline, particularly when chlamydial infection has not been excluded, should be recommended as empiric first-line treatment. Spectinomycin 2 g could be an alternative treatment, and given with azithromycin 2 g if pharyngeal gonorrhoea has not been excluded. Fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides, benzylpenicillin, or tetracyclines should not be used for empiric treatment of gonorrhoea in Kyrgyzstan. Timely updating and high compliance to national gonorrhoea treatment guidelines based on quality-assured AMR data is imperative. Expanded and improved gonococcal AMR surveillance in Kyrgyzstan is crucial.
Highlights
Gonorrhoea and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Neisseria gonorrhoeae are significant public health concerns globally
Fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides, benzylpenicillin, or tetracyclines should not be used for empiric treatment of gonorrhoea in Kyrgyzstan
Updating and high compliance to national gonorrhoea treatment guidelines based on quality-assured AMR data is imperative
Summary
Gonorrhoea and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Neisseria gonorrhoeae are significant public health concerns globally. Gonorrhoea, caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, is a significant public health concern globally. Treatment failures with ceftriaxone, including one with ceftriaxone plus azithromycin dual therapy [13] have been confirmed in many countries [4]. As stressed in the WHO global action plan [25] and the European response plan [26], it is essential to substantially enhance the quality assured surveillance of gonococcal AMR worldwide. Molecular epidemiological typing of gonococci can effectively support the gonococcal AMR surveillance and N. gonorrhoeae multiantigen sequence typing (NG-MAST) has been used in many countries globally [27,28,29,30,31,32,33]
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