Incidence of penicillinase producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae (PPNG) strains and susceptibility of gonococcal isolates to antibiotics in Benin City, Nigeria.

Of 53 strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolated in Benin City, Nigeria, in February 1983 to October 1984, 46 (87%) produced penicillinase. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of penicillin G and ampicillin for these isolates were between 1 mg/l and and 50 mg/l. About 48% (22/46) of the penicillinase producing strains were also resistant to streptomycin, cotrimoxazole, and ampicillin and cloxacillin. All 53 isolates were sensitive to tetracycline, erythromycin, amoxycillin and clavulanic acid, nalidixic acid, spectinomycin, and the penicillinase stable cephalosporins. The high incidence of resistance may have been the result of indiscriminate and unsupervised use of antibiotics before patients presented for proper treatment in clinics and hospitals.