Antimicrobial susceptibilities and genomic epidemiology of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Stockholm, Sweden

AbstractThe aim of this study was to investigate the genomic epidemiology and antimicrobial susceptibilities ofN. gonorrhoeae isolates in Stockholm, Sweden. In total, 6723 isolates detected in Stockholm, Sweden, from January 2016 to September 2022, were examined for antimicrobial susceptibilities by usingE-test. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was applied to isolates in sentinel surveillance and isolates resistant to extended-spectrum cephalosporins (ESCs) or high-level azithromycin (HLAzi-R, MIC ≥ 256 mg/L). As sentinel surveillance, consecutive clinical isolates (n = 396) detected every 4th week from January 2021 to September 2022 were enrolled in the study. Of the 6723 isolates investigated, 33 isolates (< 1%) were found to be resistant to cefixime, one of which was co-resistant to ceftriaxone and ciprofloxacin and was detected in September 2022. Ten isolates presented a high level of azithromycin resistance. Resistant rates to ciprofloxacin varied from 32 in 2017 to 68 –69% in 2021–2022. Elevated MIC50 and MIC90 of azithromycin were observed over the years. No resistance to spectinomycin was identified. The most frequently occurring MLST in the sentinel surveillance was ST9362 (23%), followed by ST11706 (9%), ST7359 (8%), ST10314 (7%), and ST11422 (6%). The ceftriaxone-resistant isolate belonged to ST8130 and the novel NG-STAR ST4859. Genomic resistance traits found in this strain included mutations in genesmtrR (A39T),parC (S87N), andgyrA (S91F and D95A), as well ...
Source: European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases - Category: Microbiology Source Type: research