The epidemiology of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Europe.

This review addresses the occurrence, the trends, and the risk groups of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Europe over the past decade. A decline has been observed in most of Europe since the 1980s, except for an increase in the Baltic countries (early 1990s) and an increase among men who have sex with men (between 1989 and 1991), and heterosexuals in some countries (between 1995 and 1997). Despite the overall fall in the incidence of gonorrhoea, plasmid-mediated resistance to penicillin and tetracycline increased in Europe. More recently, resistance to fluoroquinolones has been documented, mainly imported from Southeast Asia. Until now, no resistance to third-generation cephalosporins has been observed.