Neisseria gonorrhoeae treatment failure and susceptibility to cefixime in Toronto, Canada.

Importance: Although cephalosporins are the cornerstone of treatment of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections, cefixime is the only oral antimicrobial option. Increased minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) to cefixime have been identified worldwide and have been associated with reports of clinical failure.

Objective: To assess the risk of clinical treatment failure of N.

Molecular analysis of antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates from Ontario, Canada.

Surveillance of gonococcal antimicrobial resistance and the molecular characterization of the mechanisms underlying these resistance phenotypes are essential in order to establish correct empirical therapies, as well as to describe the emergence of new mechanisms in local bacterial populations. To address these goals, 149 isolates were collected over a 1-month period (October-November 2008) at the Ontario Public Health Laboratory, Toronto, Canada, and susceptibility profiles (8 antibiotics) were examined. Mutations in previously identified targets or the presence of some enzymes related to resistance (r), nonsusceptibility (ns) (resistant plus intermediate categories), or reduced susceptibility (rs) to the antibiotics tested were also studied.

Prevalence of and risk factors for quinolone-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection in Ontario.

Background: Quinolone-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae has swiftly emerged in Canada. We sought to determine its prevalence in the province of Ontario and to investigate risk factors for quinolone-resistant N. gonorrhoeae infection in a Canadian setting.