Extensively Drug-Resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae Strain, Canada

Emerg Infect Dis. 2025 Jul;31(7):1446-1449. doi: 10.3201/eid3107.250023.

Abstract

We identified a case of extensively drug-resistant (ceftriaxone- and cefixime-resistant and high-level azithromycin-resistant) Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Canada. The strain harbors the penA 60.001 allele, which includes the A311V and 23S rRNA A2059G single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with high-level azithromycin resistance. The infection was likely acquired during travel in Cambodia.

Keywords: Canada; Neisseria gonorrhoeae; antimicrobial resistance; antimicrobial susceptibility surveillance; bacteria; cefixime; cefixime-resistant; ceftriaxone; ceftriaxone-resistant; gonorrhea; mosaic penA allele; penA-60; sexually transmitted infections.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents* / pharmacology
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents* / therapeutic use
  • Azithromycin / pharmacology
  • Canada / epidemiology
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial* / genetics
  • Gonorrhea* / diagnosis
  • Gonorrhea* / drug therapy
  • Gonorrhea* / epidemiology
  • Gonorrhea* / microbiology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Neisseria gonorrhoeae* / classification
  • Neisseria gonorrhoeae* / drug effects
  • Neisseria gonorrhoeae* / genetics
  • Neisseria gonorrhoeae* / isolation & purification
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Azithromycin