Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Athens, Greece. Epidemiologic classification and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of strains isolated between 1986 and 1989.

The incidence of gonorrhoea cases diagnosed in a major venereal hospital of Athens, Greece, was markedly reduced between 1986 and 1989. All 182 gonococcal isolates found during this period were epidemiologically classified into Sero-/Auxo-/Plasmid content (S/A/Pc) types. Susceptibility to six antimicrobials was also determined. Penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae (PPNG) strains were isolated in an increased frequency of 7.7% and a striking shift in their distribution into S/A/Pc types was noted from previous years. The isolates exhibited wide heterogeneity of type: none of the 14 PPNG strains was identical, while the 168 non-PPNG strains were distributed into 64 S/A/Pc types. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of the PPNG and 86% of the non-PPNG isolates were of the WII/III serogroup. Chromosomally mediated resistance to penicillin, ampicillin, or both was exhibited by 14% of the non-PPNG isolates. Greater frequency of reduced susceptibility to cefotaxime, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol was also found among PPNG and non-PPNG strains, mostly of the WII/III serogroup. Twelve percent (12%) of the non-PPNG and 57% of the PPNG strains had multiple patterns of resistance, involving 2 to 4 antimicrobials of different class lines.