Penicillin sensitivity of gonococci. An evaluation of monitoring as an index of epidemiological control.

The penicillin sensitivities of 1,167 gonococci isolated during a 30-month period from male patients, and 794 gonococci isolated from female patients were analysed retrospectively. More strains from males were relatively resistant than those from females, and a higher proportion of relatively resistant organisms was isolated from each sex when the infection had been acquired outside the area served by the clinic. During the course of the study a fall in the number of relatively resistant strains was seen amongst the locally acquired organisms, whilst no such drop occurred in the strains acquired elswhere; it is postulated that improved contact tracing may have been responsible. Regular monitoring of the penicillin sensitivity of gonococci has been shown to be a sensitive index of gonorrhoea control.