Comparative Study of Gonococcal Susceptibility to Penicillin in the United States, 1955-1969

In Vitro Activity of Rosamicin, Josamycin, Erythromycin, and Clindamycin Against β-Lactamase-Negative and β-Lactamase-Positive Strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae

“…In the two decades between 1950 and 1970, gonococci, in general, became more resistant to penicillin (8,13), but our studies showed that since 1972 this trend has been reversed (6). In these studies it was shown that treatment with penicillin of patients with uncomplicated gonorrhea yielded approximately 97% cures (7).…”

“…Until 1972, Neisseria gonorrhoeae exhibited gradually increasing levels of chromosomal resistance to commonly used antimicrobial agents (8,13), but recent data from a national gonorrhea therapy monitoring program indicated that this pattern of increasing resistance levels had been reversed (6). However, the isolation of f8-lactamase-producing (1,4,10) and spectinomycin-resistant (11,18) strains demonstrates the ability of N. gonorrhoeae to develop resistance to therapeutic agents.…”

A Possible Role of R Plasmids in Bacterial Permeability for β‐Lactam Antibiotics

“…However, there is some evidence that bacterial resistance to the antibiotics does not necessarily correlate with the enzyme activity (17,28). In addition to hydrolysis of the antibiotics by ,8-lactamase, alteration of the target enzyme (13,20) and the constituents of the cell wall (1,31) may also be involved in the mechanisms of bacterial resistance to the antibiotics. The latter may be represented as alteration of bacterial permeability to the antibiotics.…”

Male urethritis in King County, Washington, 1974-75: II. Diagnosis and treatment.

“…Many factors have been suggested as being contributory to the impressive national increase in gonorrhea incidence over the past decade, among which are the increased sexual activity of teenagers,'5 the decreasing use of the condom and diaphragm for contraception, in part due to increased availability of oral contraceptives and intrauterine devices,'6 and the decreasing sensitivity of N. gonorrhea to both penicillin and tetracycline.2' 17 18 There apparently exists a definite need to educate the private physician concerning the importance of treating gonorrhea infections with a recommended regimen. If this deficit could be corrected, our figures suggest that an important impact could be made on the current gonorrhea epidemic.…”