Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Pathog Dis 2019 Feb 16. Epub 2019 Feb 16.

School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.

The bacterial species Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) has evolved to replicate effectively and exclusively in human epithelia, with its survival dependent on complex interactions between bacteria, host cells and antimicrobial agents. A better understanding of these interactions is needed to inform development of new approaches to gonorrhoea treatment and prevention but empirical studies have proven difficult, suggesting a role for mathematical modelling. Here we describe an in-host model of progression of untreated male symptomatic urethral infection, including NG growth and interactions with epithelial cells and neutrophils, informed by in vivo and in vitro studies. Read More

Front Microbiol 2019 31;10:73. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.

and release peptidoglycan (PG) fragments from the cell as the bacteria grow. For these PG fragments are known to cause damage to human Fallopian tube tissue in organ culture that mimics the damage seen in patients with pelvic inflammatory disease. also releases pro-inflammatory PG fragments, but in smaller amounts than those from . Read More

Sex Transm Dis 2019 Feb 11. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Centre for HIV & STIs, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Background: Mycoplasma genitalium is associated with genital discharge syndrome, but limited prevalence data is available in South Africa. The prevalence rates of M. genitalium infection and HIV co-infection were determined in urogenital specimens collected from male and female patients presenting with genital discharge syndrome to a primary health care centre in Johannesburg, South Africa from 2007 through 2014. Read More

Eur J Case Rep Intern Med 2018 22;5(2):000743. Epub 2018 Feb 22.

Internal Medicine Department, Ospedale La Carità, Locarno, Switzerland.

A young woman presented with right upper quadrant abdominal pain exacerbated by movement and breathing. Extensive evaluation revealed no gallstones or any other specific cause. Urine polymerase chain reaction results for were positive, so the clinical diagnosis of Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome was confirmed. Read More

Anaerobe 2019 Feb 9. Epub 2019 Feb 9.

Magee-Womens Research Institute, 204 Craft Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; University of Pittsburgh, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Magee-Womens Hospital, 300 Halket Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. Electronic address:

The CDC recommended outpatient treatment of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is an intramuscular dose of ceftriaxone plus 14 days of doxycycline, with or without metronidazole. European guidelines (2017) include moxifloxacin plus ceftriaxone as a first line regimen, particularly for women with Mycoplasma genitalium-associated PID. However, the susceptibility of bacteria recovered from the endometrium of women with PID to moxifloxacin is unknown. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2019 Feb 12;15(2):e1007495. Epub 2019 Feb 12.

BIO5 Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States of America.

The Gram-negative human pathogen N. gonorrhoeae (Ngo) quickly attaches to epithelial cells, and large numbers of the bacteria remain on the cell surface for prolonged periods. Ngo invades cells but few viable intracellular bacteria are recovered until later stages of infection, leading to the assumption that Ngo is a weak invader. Read More

Curr Biol 2019 Feb 1. Epub 2019 Feb 1.

Lehrstuhl für Zellbiologie, Fachbereich Biologie, Universität Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany; Konstanz Research School-Chemical Biology, Universität Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany. Electronic address:

The selective pressure by infectious agents is a major driving force in the evolution of humans and other mammals. Members of the carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule (CEACAM) family serve as receptors for bacterial pathogens of the genera Haemophilus, Helicobacter, Neisseria, and Moraxella, which engage CEACAMs via distinct surface adhesins. While microbial attachment to epithelial CEACAMs facilitates host colonization, recognition by CEACAM3, a phagocytic receptor expressed by granulocytes, eliminates CEACAM-binding bacteria. Read More

Biophys J 2019 Jan 29. Epub 2019 Jan 29.

Institute for Biological Physics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. Electronic address:

Bacterial type 4 pili (T4P) are extracellular polymers that initiate the formation of microcolonies and biofilms. T4P continuously elongate and retract. These pilus dynamics crucially affect the local order, shape, and fluidity of microcolonies. Read More

Sex Health 2019 Feb 11. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Vietnam currently has no antenatal screening program for curable sexually transmissible infections (STIs). The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of curable STIs, correlates of infections and assess the acceptability and feasibility of antenatal STI screening in Hanoi, Vietnam. A study involving 800 pregnant women visiting Ha Dong Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam from June 2016 to July 2017, was conducted. Read More

Sex Transm Infect 2019 Feb 7. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Department of Medical Microbiology, Maastricht University Medical Center, School of Public Health and Primary Care, Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Objectives: Pathogen load has been linked to disease severity in patients infected with HIV, resulting in international standards to adequately and reproducibly quantify load. (CT) load has been inconsistently linked to disease severity since extensive differences exist in quantification methods (14 methods in 28 articles). Differences include normalisation for human cell load due to CT's intracellular nature, despite the inability to distinguish inflammatory cells from epithelial cells with molecular techniques. Read More

Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin 2019 Feb 4. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Barcelona, España; GeITS de la Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica (SEIMC), Madrid, España; Servicio de Microbiología, Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, España; Departamento de Genética y Microbiología, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, España. Electronic address:

Gonococcal infection is a current public health problem worldwide, being the second most prevalent bacterial sexually transmitted infection. The etiologic agent is Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a gram-negative diplococcus, and mainly causes urethritis in men. In women up to 50% of infections can be asymptomatic. Read More

PLoS One 2019 7;14(2):e0211595. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Japanese Foundation for Sexual Health Medicine, Tokyo, JAPAN.

We evaluated the current prevalence of gonococcal cervicitis among pregnant women in institutes that either do or do not routinely screen for gonococcal infection in Japan. We requested 2,330 obstetrical facilities to provide information on Neisseria gonorrhoeae cervicitis in pregnant women. A total of 1,876 (80. Read More

Rev Esp Quimioter 2019 Feb 4. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

Fernando Cobo, Department of Microbiology and Instituto Biosanitario de Granada. University Hospital Virgen de las Nieves, Avda Fuerzas Armadas, 2 - 18014 Granada, Spain.

Objective: Last guidelines have recommended the introduction of dual antimicrobial therapy in order to avoid treatment failure. In the present report, the susceptibility to some antibiotics was evaluated, and the typing of Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains was performed.

Methods: Gonococcal isolates were tested for susceptibility according to the recommendations of both CLSI and EUCAST. Read More

Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 2019 Jan 14. Epub 2019 Jan 14.

UCLA Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

There are no commercially available Food and Drug Administration-cleared rapid tests for Neisseria gonorrhoeae antimicrobial susceptibility testing. This study evaluated the performance of a laboratory-developed real-time polymerase chain reaction assay for genotyping the gyrA gene to determine antimicrobial susceptibility to ciprofloxacin. Validation and clinical performance of the gyrA assay were evaluated across 3 geographic locations (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia). Read More

Int J STD AIDS 2019 Feb 5:956462419825896. Epub 2019 Feb 5.

3 STI Unit Vall d'Hebron - Drassanes, Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.

Mycoplasma genitalium is an infection of increasing concern due to its potential to cause sequelae in the reproductive tract and the development of antimicrobial resistance. Its role as a cause of proctitis in people with high-risk sexual behaviour has not been properly defined yet but it seems to be less symptomatic than proctitis caused by Chlamydia trachomatis or Neisseria gonorrhoeae. We present a case of a man who has sex with men with proctitis associated with M. Read More

Dtsch Med Wochenschr 2019 Feb 31;144(3):165-170. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Abteilung Infektiologie, Klinik für Innere Medizin II, Universitätsklinikum Freiburg.

The incidence of sexually transmitted infections like syphilis or gonorrhea is still rising, particularly in the high-risk population of men having sex with men (MSM). Neisseria gonorrhoeae is capable to develop resistance to all antibiotics previously or currently used for treatment. Dual antimicrobial therapy with ceftriaxone and azithromycin is considered the current empirical first-line therapy. Read More

Microb Genom 2019 Jan 30. Epub 2019 Jan 30.

Infection Genomics, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, UK.

Gonorrhoea infections are on the increase and strains that are resistant to all antimicrobials used to treat the disease have been found worldwide. These observations encouraged the World Health Organization to include Neisseria gonorrhoeae on their list of high-priority organisms in need of new treatments. Fortunately, concurrent resistance to both antimicrobials used in dual therapy is still rare. Read More

Evol Appl 2019 Feb 3;12(2):337-349. Epub 2019 Jan 3.

Glycobiology Research and Training Center University of California, San Diego La Jolla California.

causes the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea exclusively in humans and uses multiple strategies to infect, including acquisition of host sialic acids that cap and mask lipooligosaccharide termini, while restricting complement activation. We hypothesized that gonococci selectively target human anti-inflammatory sialic acid-recognizing Siglec receptors on innate immune cells to blunt host responses and that pro-inflammatory Siglecs and pseudogene polymorphisms represent host evolutionary adaptations to counteract this interaction. can indeed engage multiple human but not chimpanzee CD33rSiglecs expressed on innate immune cells and in the genitourinary tract--including Siglec-11 (inhibitory) and Siglec-16 (activating), which we detected for the first time on human cervical epithelium. Read More

J Antimicrob Chemother 2019 Jan 27. Epub 2019 Jan 27.

Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.

Background: The emergence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae resistant to all currently available antimicrobial therapies poses a dire public health threat. New antimicrobial agents with activity against N. gonorrhoeae are urgently needed. Read More

Mikrobiyol Bul 2019 Jan;53(1):37-42

Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Ankara, Turkey.

Laboratory testing is critical for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) as most of the infected people usually have no symptoms. It is known that having HIV and STI coinfection increases the risk of HIV transmission. Sensitive tests are required for the infection control. Read More

Sex Transm Dis 2019 Jan 19. Epub 2019 Jan 19.

Department of Epidemiology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.

Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are associated with an increased risk of HIV acquisition and transmission. We estimated the proportion of HIV incidence among men who have sex with men attributable to infection with the two most common bacterial STIs, Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT).

Methods: We used a stochastic, agent-based model of a sexual network of MSM with co-circulating HIV, NG, and CT infections. Read More

Microb Drug Resist 2019 Jan 24. Epub 2019 Jan 24.

3 Department of Microbiology, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a principal pathogen for sexually transmitted infections, especially for male urethritis. Currently, the prevalence of multidrug resistance is increasing. Carbapenems are broad-spectrum antimicrobials that are widely used in the clinical setting, especially for multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Read More

BMJ Open 2019 Jan 21;9(1):e022793. Epub 2019 Jan 21.

Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Objectives: To assess to what extent triage criteria, client and regional characteristics explain regional differences in (Ct) and (Ng) positivity in sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinics.

Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study on the Dutch STI surveillance database of all 24 STI clinics.

Participants: STI clinic visits of heterosexual persons in 2015 with a Ct (n=101 495) and/or Ng test (n=101 081). Read More

Sex Transm Dis 2018 Dec 5. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Science, College of Health Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.

Background: We report on the antimicrobial resistance profile of N.gonorrhoeae isolates and the distribution of tetM genes in isolates with high-level tetracycline resistance in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Methods: Male and female patients presenting with urethral and/or vaginal discharge were recruited into the study. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2019 Jan 17;19(1):61. Epub 2019 Jan 17.

School of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia.

Background: Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae are the most common pathogens causing genital tract infections. Female commercial sex workers (FCSWs) are the key population to be affected by sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In Ethiopia, little is known about C. Read More

J Gen Intern Med 2019 Jan 16. Epub 2019 Jan 16.

Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA.

J Clin Microbiol 2019 Jan 16. Epub 2019 Jan 16.

Roche Molecular Systems, Inc., Pleasanton, CA.

The clinical performance of the cobas® CT/NG assay on the cobas 6800/8800 Systems (cobas) for the detection of (CT) and e (NG) was established in a multisite, prospective collection study using male and female urogenital specimens; supportive data from archived specimens were also included. Results with cobas were compared with a patient infected status derived from a combination of US Food and Drug Administration-approved nucleic acid amplification tests to determine the sensitivity and specificity in each sample type. The sensitivity (95% CI) of cobas for the detection of CT from female specimens was 95. Read More

J Antimicrob Chemother 2019 Jan 11. Epub 2019 Jan 11.

Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.

Rates of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to rise, demanding treatments to be highly effective. However, curing infections faces significant challenges due to antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Mycoplasma genitalium and especially treating STIs at extragenital sites, particularly rectal chlamydia and oropharyngeal gonorrhoea. As no new antimicrobials are entering the market, clinicians must optimize the currently available treatments, but robust data are lacking on how the properties or pharmacokinetics of antimicrobials can be used to inform STI treatment regimens to improve treatment outcomes. Read More

MBio 2019 Jan 15;10(1). Epub 2019 Jan 15.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USA

is quickly becoming untreatable due to its acquisition of resistance to multiple antimicrobials. It is vital that we begin to understand the mechanisms by which this is occurring. The paper by C. Read More

Infect Drug Resist 2019 28;12:95-104. Epub 2018 Dec 28.

Department of Reference STD Lab, National Center for STD Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, China,

Background: resistance to azithromycin has become a significant public health concern globally, and high-level azithromycin-resistant (HL-AzmR) isolates have emerged frequently. However, high-level azithromycin resistance is considered to be caused by mutated alleles of 23S rRNA gene at position 2059, and identification of HL-AzmR isolates mainly relies on agar dilution method or E-test method. This study aimed to assess the accuracy of the molecular assays targeting the mutation A2059G for identifying HL-AzmR isolates and thereby determine the association between the mutation and high-level azithromycin resistance. Read More

Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2019 Jan 14. Epub 2019 Jan 14.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, United States

There is a pressing need for drug development for gonorrhea. Here we describe pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) analysis of extended-spectrum cephalosporins (ESC) against drug-susceptible and drug-resistant gonococcal strains in a murine genital tract infection model. PK determined in uninfected mice displayed a clear dose response in plasma levels following single doses of ceftriaxone (CRO) (intraperitoneal) or cefixime (CFM) (oral). Read More

Sex Transm Dis 2019 Jan 10. Epub 2019 Jan 10.

Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.

Background: Symptom awareness, behavioral factors, and other barriers associated with timely STI healthcare provision in men is not well-studied.

Methods: Men attending an STI clinic answered a questionnaire regarding their symptoms, sexual behavior, and socio-demographic and behavioral characteristics. Characteristics of symptomatic men were compared between those who did and did not delay seeking healthcare services. Read More

J Microbiol Methods 2019 Feb 7;157:93-99. Epub 2019 Jan 7.

AMRI, 1001 Main Street, Suite 7, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA. Electronic address:

With increasing antibiotic resistance observed amongst clinical isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the second most prevalent sexually transmitted bacterial disease in the United States, there is still a need for antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST). The current method recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute is agar dilution. In this study, we show that a commercially available version of Fastidious Broth is capable of supporting N. Read More

J Infect Dis 2019 Jan 9. Epub 2019 Jan 9.

Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a major issue of public health, and there is a critical need for the development of new anti-gonococcal strategies. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of antimicrobial blue light (aBL; 405 nm wavelength), an innovative non-pharmacological approach, for the inactivation of N. gonorrhoeae. Read More

Sex Transm Dis 2019 Jan 8. Epub 2019 Jan 8.

City University of New York, Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy, New York, USA.

Background: Evidence suggests that some forms of hormonal contraception (HC) increase women's risk of non-HIV sexually transmitted infections (STIs), yet evidence has not been reviewed since 2008. We conducted an updated systematic review to incorporate studies published between January 2009 and June 2017 to examine the relationship between HCs and incident and/or recurrent STIs.

Methods: We searched PubMed and EMBASE to identify prospective studies comparing risk of Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, human papillomavirus (HPV), herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), Treponema pallidum, or Trichomonas vaginalis, between women using HC vs. Read More

Front Immunol 2018 21;9:3044. Epub 2018 Dec 21.

Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile.

is a significant health problem worldwide due to multi-drug resistance issues and absence of an effective vaccine. Patients infected with have not shown a better immune response in successive infections. This might be explained by the fact that possesses several mechanisms to evade the innate and adaptative immune responses at different levels. Read More

Commun Dis Intell (2018) 2018 16;42. Epub 2018 Nov 16.

Neisseria Reference Laboratory and World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for STD, Sydney. Department of Microbiology, South Eastern Area Laboratory Services, The Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW Australia.

The Australian Gonococcal Surveillance Programme (AGSP) has continuously monitored antimicrobial resistance in clinical isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from all states and territories since 1981. In 2016, there were 6,378 clinical isolates of gonococci from public and private sector sources tested for in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility by standardised methods. Current treatment recommendations for the majority of Australia is a dual therapeutic strategy of ceftriaxone and azithromycin. Read More

F1000Res 2018 10;7:1237. Epub 2018 Aug 10.

Department of Clinical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, 2000, Belgium.

In this study, we assessed if there was a city-level association between sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening intensity in men who have sex with men and antimicrobial sensitivity in in the United States, 2007 to 2013.  We found positive associations between STI screening intensity and increases in minimum inhibitory concentrations for certain antimicrobials. Not all positive associations were statistically significant and the associations found to be statistically significant varied between the different analyses. Read More

Postepy Dermatol Alergol 2018 Dec 26;35(6):346-551. Epub 2018 Nov 26.

World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Gonorrhoea and other STIs, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.

Gonorrhoea is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections and in 2012, the World Health Organization estimated about 78 million of new global urogenital cases among adults per year. The main concern during the latest decade has been the emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant strains of . Resistance has emerged internationally to the extended-spectrum cephalosporins, ceftriaxone and cefixime, which are the last remaining options for empiric first-line monotherapy of gonorrhoea. Read More

Zhongguo Yi Xue Ke Xue Yuan Xue Bao 2018 Dec;40(6):817-821

Department of Clinical Laboratory,PUMC Hospital,CAMS and PUMC,Beijing 100730,China.

Objective To analyze the infection status of human papilloma virus (HPV),Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU),Chlamydia trachomatis (CT),and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) in clinical patients.Methods The laboratory specimens including urine,urethral swabs,and cervical swabs from 870 patients from January 1st 2014 to December 31st 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. HPV-DNA was detected by multiplex fluorescent PCR,and the UU-RNA,CT-RNA,and NG-RNA were determined by isothermal nucleic acid amplification. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2019 Jan 3;19(1). Epub 2019 Jan 3.

Centre for HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections, National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), Johannesburg, South Africa.

Background: Extra-genital Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis infections are mostly asymptomatic, and important reservoir sites of infection as they often go undetected and may be more difficult to eradicate with recommended therapeutic regimens. Commercial nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) have not received regulatory approval for the detection of N. gonorrhoeae and C. Read More

J Med Microbiol 2019 Feb 3;68(2):197-200. Epub 2019 Jan 3.

1​Bacteriology Laboratory, Division of Laboratory Medicine, Department of Genetics, Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Geneva University Hospitals, 4 rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.

The Roche Cobas 6800 CT/NG assay was compared to the Abbott m2000 Real Time CT/NG assay for detecting Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in 714 specimens referred to the bacteriology laboratory at Geneva University Hospitals, between November 2017 and March 2018, and in nine external quality controls for molecular diagnostics (seven from QCMD Glasgow and two from UK NEQAS). For C. trachomatis, the sensitivity of C6800 compared to m2000 was 100 % (95 % confidence interval [CI], 97. Read More

Syst Rev 2018 Dec 26;7(1):248. Epub 2018 Dec 26.

Alberta Research Centre for Health Evidence, University of Alberta, 11405 87 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1C9, Canada.

Background: Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae are the most commonly reported sexually transmitted infections in Canada. Existing national guidance on screening for these infections was not based on a systematic review, and recommendations as well as implementation considerations (e.g. Read More

Infect Dis Obstet Gynecol 2018 21;2018:7263849. Epub 2018 Nov 21.

Laboratoire de Microbiologie et de Biologie Moléculaire, Faculté de Médecine et de Pharmacie de Fès (FMPF), Université Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah (USMBA), Fès, Morocco.

Objectives: To identify the prevalence and the types of (NG) resistance plasmids-mediated penicillin (PPNG) and tetracycline (TRNG), the ciprofloxacin resistance (CRNG), and related risk factors of each types of resistance.

Methods: The beta-lactamase-producing plasmid types (Africa, Asia, and Toronto), tetracycline resistance plasmid types (America and Dutch), and the determination of the Ser-91 mutation of GyrA were detected by specifics PCRs on 149 diagnosed NG positives samples followed by digestion for and mutation.

Results: 135 (90. Read More

Front Microbiol 2018 7;9:2971. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States.

() is a human-specific pathogen and the etiological agent of gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted infection with a significant global health burden. While often asymptomatic, untreated gonorrhea can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, infertility, and increased transmission/acquisition of HIV. A protective gonorrhea vaccine may be the only way to control disease transmission in the future due to the inexorable development of antibiotic resistance. Read More

AIDS Res Ther 2018 Dec 21;15(1):28. Epub 2018 Dec 21.

Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Patients who are HIV-positive and co-infected with other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are at risk of increased morbidity and mortality. This is of clinical significance. There has been a dramatic increase in the incidence of STIs, particularly syphilis, gonorrhoea, Mycoplasma genitalium and hepatitis C virus (HCV) in HIV-positive patients. Read More

Andrologia 2018 Dec;50(11):e13126

American Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio.

Oxidative stress (OS), defined as an overabundance of reactive oxygen species (ROS) or a deficiency of antioxidants, has been linked to sperm damage and male infertility. There are many sources of OS and inflammation including varicocele, tobacco usage, alcohol, obesity/metabolic syndrome, leukocytospermia, sexually transmitted disease (i.e. Read More

Front Immunol 2018 4;9:2793. Epub 2018 Dec 4.

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States.

Expanding efforts to develop preventive gonorrhea vaccines is critical because of the serious health consequences combined with the prevalence and the dire possibility of untreatable gonorrhea. Reverse vaccinology, which includes genome and proteome mining, has proven successful in the discovery of vaccine candidates against many pathogenic bacteria. Here, we describe proteomic applications including comprehensive, quantitative proteomic platforms and immunoproteomics coupled with broad-ranging bioinformatics that have been applied for antigen mining to develop gonorrhea vaccine(s). Read More

Euro Surveill 2018 Dec;23(50)

Department of Medical Microbiology, Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC+), Maastricht, the Netherlands.

BackgroundGenotyping of (NG) is essential for surveillance to monitor NG transmission and dissemination of resistant strains. Current genotyping methods rely on bacterial culture which frequently fails.AimOur aim was to develop a culture-free genotyping method that is compatible with the widely used multi-antigen sequence typing (NG-MAST) database, which facilitates genotyping of NG detected at separate anatomical sites in individual patients. Read More

Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 2018 Nov 10. Epub 2018 Nov 10.

Division of Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae quickly develops drug resistance. Time-kill curves revealed that EDTA and TOL-463 inhibit growth similar to penicillin, ciprofloxacin, and azithromycin. Furthermore, synergistic and additive antimicrobial interactions occurred when EDTA and TOL-463 were combined with penicillin or azithromycin, respectively, suggesting that further investigations into these unconventional antimicrobials may be advantageous. Read More