EMERGENCE OF MULTI-DRUG RESISTANT NEISSERIA GONORRHOEAE IN THE AMHARA NATIONAL REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA Investigators:

Background: Occurrence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates which are resistant to multiple antimicrobial agents is proving to be a serious public health problem in different corners of the globe. The main objective of the current study was to analyze the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of N. gonorrhoeae isolates in Northwest Ethiopia. Methods: This was a retrospective study of the susceptibility patterns of N. gonorrhoeae isolated from genital swabs of patients referred to the Amhara Regional Health Research Laboratory between September 2006 and June 2012 in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. A structured check list was used to collect socio-demographic and laboratory data, which were analyzed using SPSS software version 16. Results: Out of 352 genital specimens processed, 29 clinical strains of N. gonorrhoeae were isolated. Resistance against cephalosporin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, and penicillin G was observed in 27.8%, 40.9%, 92.6%, and 94.4% of the isolates, respectively. Twenty percent of the isolates showed dual resistance against ceftriaxone and ciprofloxacin. Multi-drug resistant N. gonorrhoeae were identified in 27.8% of the isolates. The level of resistance against tetracycline and penicillin G was maintained at a high level while resistance to fluoroquinolones and cephalosporins showed an increasing trend with time. Conclusion and Recommendation: N. gonorrhoeae isolated from genital specimens in the Amhara National Regional State have high level of resistance to common and new generation antibiotics, some being multi-drug resistant. A change of diagnostic approach of gonorrhea to the etiologic approach coupled with determination of susceptibility patterns is recommended.