High-level azithromycin-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae clinical isolate in France, March 2014

Abstract

We report the first case in France of a high-level azithromycin-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) = 96 mg/L) assigned to MLST7363 (NG-MAST ST6360), also resistant to ciprofloxacin and tetracycline but susceptible to ceftriaxone. The patient was a 51 year-old heterosexual man who returned following 1g azithromycin monotherapy. Mechanisms of azithromycin resistance were a C2599T mutation in the four copies of the rrl gene and a novel mutation in the promoter of the mtrR gene.