The emergence of penicillinase-producing strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Durban.

Gonorrhoea was diagnosed in 179 (87%) of 206 Black males who presented with urethritis at a sexually transmitted disease clinic at the King Edward VIII Hospital, Durban. Penicillinase-producing strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae were detected in 7 (5%) of 140 gonococcal isolates, and a further 13 strains were relatively resistant to penicillin. Microscopic examination of Gram-stained smears provided a rapid presumptive diagnosis of gonorrhoea in 162 cases. The modified Thayer-Martin medium proved marginally superior to chocolate agar for the isolation of N. gonorrhoeae from urethral exudates. The causation and laboratory diagnosis of urethritis in males and the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of the gonococcal isolates are discussed.