Increasing resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in West and Central Africa

Antimicrobial resistant strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae have spread with remarkable rapidity in many African countries. A study was conducted to characterize gonococcal isolates from three sites in West and Central Africa, to determine antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, to document the spread of plasmid-mediated resistance to penicillin and tetracycline in these three sites and to discuss the consequences of rising antimicrobial resistance on the management of gonococcal infection in Africa.