Bacteriological and epidemiological study on Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolated from the pharyngeal specimens of male and female patients with gonorrhea

Abstract

Neisseria gonorrhoeae were isolated from pharyngeal specimens of male and female patients and also from urethral and cervical discharges of male and female patients, respectively, suspected of having gonococcal infections in a urologic clinic in Kawasaki City. Microbiological and epidemiological studies were performed in 127 male and 41 female patients. The specimens were streaked onto the modified Thayer-Martin Selective Agar and the plates were incubated at 35 degrees C for 48 h under an atmosphere of 10% CO2. In 127 male patients, N. gonorrhoeae were detected in 117 (92.1%) of the urethral specimens. In these patients, N. gonorrhoeae were detected in pharyngeal specimens from 14 (11.0%) patients, but the pathogen was also detected in urethral specimens from these patients without exception. In 41 female patients. N. gonorrhoeae were detected in 20 (48.8%) of the 41 cervical discharges. When the pharyngeal specimens were tested, N. gonorrhoeae were detected in 14 (34.1%) of the 41 specimens. N. gonorrhoeae was simultaneously detected only in pharyngeal and cervical specimens from 11 of the 41 female patients and the pathogen was detected only in pharyngeal specimens from other 3 patients. There were no marked differences in antimicrobial susceptibilities between N. gonorrhoeae isolates from pharyngeal specimens and those from urethral or cervical discharges in all the patients tested. The PFGE patterns of 50 gonococcal isolates (25 pairs) from 25 patients (14 males and 11 females) in whom N. gonorrhoeae were simultaneously detected from pharyngeal and urethral or cervical specimens were analyzed. In 24 of 25 patients. N. gonorrhoeae isolated from the pharyngeal and urethral or cervical specimens in the same patients showed the same PFGE patterns. However, the 25 pairs showed the different PFGE patterns. From these results it is clarified that N. gonorrhoeae are detected in the pharyngeal specimens from considerable numbers of patients with gonorrhea, and there is a possibility that the pathogens prevailing among the patients differ in genetic sources.