Prevalence and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Kumasi, Ghana

Abstract

Background: In most African countries, including Ghana, treatment of the Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection is based on syndromic management owing to lack of laboratory equipment and resources in primary care facilities where most patients first visit. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and evaluate its susceptibility pattern to standard antimicrobials used for empirical treatment of the infection in patients that attended Ellolab Diagnostic Centre at Kumasi from November 2014 to July 2017. Methodology: Four hundred and twenty-seven (427) clinical specimens from suspected patients were cultured on chocolate agar. Positive cultures were tested for resistance against twelve antimicrobial agents using the disk diffusion method. Results: N. gonorrhoeae was identified in 117 of the clinical samples. This represents an overall prevalence of 27.4%, with 39.3% and 60.7% occurring in males and females respectively. Maximum cases were observed in the 16-24 age group. Interestingly, the organism showed high levels of resistance to the nationally recommended drugs for first-line empirical treatment; Ceftriaxone 85.5%, Ciprofloxacin 46.2% and Amikacin 1.7%. Conclusion: The local susceptibility trends of N. gonorrhoeae need to be monitored closely in order to establish appropriate local empirical therapy.