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OUTWITTED AGAIN BY THE NIMBLE GONOCOCCUS.
Over the years, Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains have "learned" to develop resistance to a variety of different antibacterials, including penicillin. Spectinomycin has recently been recommended as the primary treatment for gonococcal infections in New York City and southern Florida because strains resistant to it have rarely been found. Since 1981, spectinomycin has been the primary treatment among U.S. military personnel stationed in Korea because local strains of the gonococcus are frequently resistant to other agents.
A study of the efficacy of spectinomycin in servicemen in Korea reports that spectinomycin-resistant strains were identified in 8.2% of 124 men with gonococcal urethritis by 1985. The authors urge caution in the widespread use of spectinomycin for gonococcal infections and argue that current surveillance programs should be broadened.
— ALK
Published in Journal Watch General Medicine August 7, 1987
Citation(s):
Boslego J W; Tramont E D; Takafuji E T et al. Effect of spectinomycin use on the prevalence of spectinomycin-resistant and of penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae. N Engl J Med 1987 Jul 317 272-278.
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