Penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae in various seaport cities of Latin America.

One hundred fifteen acute cases of gonorrhea were documented in U.S. military personnel during a five-month cruise in which 22 port cities of Latin America were visited in 1985. Penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae (PPNG) was isolated from 23 (20%) of the 115 cases. No penicillin-resistant, beta-lactamase-negative gonococci were encountered. None of the ten cases of gonorrhea acquired in the Caribbean region was due to PPNG. In South America, the PPNG infection rate was 35% (19/54) in ports along the Pacific Ocean and 8% (4/51) in those along the Atlantic. Infections incurred in four cities of three countries on the Pacific coast of the South American continent accounted for 78% of all PPNG isolates. Although the study did not deal directly with infections in the local populations, the data suggest that PPNG are common in coastal South America and that hyperendemic foci exist in some cities of the continent's western coast.