Penicillinase-producing neisseria gonorrhoeae in riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Of 83 strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolated in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between April 1979 and August 1980, 10 produced β-lactamase and had minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of penicillin between I and ≥4 μg/ml. Of the 73 (88%) non-penicillinaseproducing strains, 55% had diminished sensitivity to penicillin (MIC = 0.06 μg/ml) and 11 (1 5%) were highly resistant (MICs ranging from 0 5-2 μg/ml). This high incidence of resistance may be due to widespread abuse of antibiotics; it also confirms that two mechanisms of resistance to penicillin exist in this species.