An outbreak of penicillin-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoea in southern Israel.

Since the early 1980s the incidence of gonorrhea has been declining worldwide, as well as in Israel. This decline has been attributed to the fear of AIDS. We report an outbreak of penicillin-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoea that occurred in the last quarter of 1988 and throughout 1989 in southern Israel. During 1987 and the first three-quarters of 1988 only 13 new cases were diagnosed, all penicillin sensitive. During the epidemic, 94 new cases were diagnosed, 41% of them penicillin resistant. In March 1989, ceftriaxone was substituted for penicillin for the treatment of gonococcal urethritis. The number of cases of penicillin-resistant gonorrhea dropped dramatically. It is concluded that despite the AIDS panic, outbreaks of gonorrhea can still be encountered, as demonstrated in this study.