Antimicrobial susceptibilities and plasmid patterns of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Benin

This study describes antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Neisseria gon orrhoeae isolates obtained from female sex workers in Cotonou, Benin. All i solates were susceptible to spectinomycin, ceftriaxone and ciprofloxacin, a nd susceptible to moderately susceptible to kanamycin; 9.8% of isolates wer e resistant to thiamphenicol; 9%, 87.5% and 3.5% were susceptible, moderate ly susceptible, resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, respectively; 9 4.4% and 99.3% were resistant to penicillin and tetracycline, respectively. All isolates with a minimal inhibitory concentration of tetracycline of >8 mg/l carried the 'American type' tetM plasmid; 94% and 6% of penicillinase -producing isolates possessed a 3.2 MDa and a 4.4MDa beta -lactamase plasmi d, respectively. Surveillance of antimicrobial susceptibility of N. gonorrh oeae isolates to currently used drugs in Africa should become part of sexua lly transmitted diseases (STDs) control programmes.