Fluoroquinolone resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae--Colorado and Washington, 1995.

The fluoroquinolones ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin are among the antimicrobial agents recommended by CDC for treating gonorrhea (1). In the United States, decreased susceptibility or resistance of strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae to the fluoroquinolones has been reported only sporadically, and treatment failure associated with in vitro resistance has not been described (2). However, the recent occurrence of resistant cases in Denver and Seattle suggests that clinically important resistance to the fluoroquinolones may be emerging. This report describes the findings of the investigations of these cases.