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In 1960 spectinomycin, a new broad spectrum antibiotic, was released for clinical investigation and it was shown that the administration of 2 g. of the sulphate salt was effective therapy in acute gonorrhoea yielding cure rates of approximately 87 to 95 per cent. in males. The cure rate in females was 92 per cent. with a 3 g. dose (Laird and Taylor, 1962; Wilcox, 1963;Tiedemann, Hackney, and Price, 1965;Sparling, Yobs, Billings, and Hackney, 1966 ResultsThe results of this study are summarised in the Table. Of 165 men treated, 108 returned for examination and there were no cases of treatment failure.Of the forty women treated with 2 g. doses, 29 were followed; the only patient from whom a positive culture was obtained admitted exposure to risk of infection during the observation period. If this case is considered to be a re-infection, the cure rate for the remaining 28 cases is 100 per cent.Among the 108 women who received 4 g., 67 of the 71 who returned for examination yielded negative results to cultures. Of the four in whom a positive culture was obtained after treatment, one was judged a re-infection on a history of further intercourse and three were considered to be due to failure of

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T HE EFFICACY of penicillin for the treatment of gonorrhea is waning. Increasing resistance of the gonococcus to penicillin during the past 20 years has forced escalation of the recommended dose from 160,000 units to 2,400,000 units for males and 4,800,000 units for females. Sulfonamides were widely used to treat gonorrhea at the end of the 1930's. Resistance of gonococci to sulfonamides today, however, is so great that by themselves they are no longer useful. We believe it is essential to try new drugs as the incidence of gonorrhea in the lJnited States oontinues to increase, and the susceptibility of the gonococcus to penicillin continues to decrease.