Molecular typing and characterisation of antimicrobial resistance determinants of Neisseria gonorrhoeae among symptomatic individuals in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

In 235 Neisseria gonorrhoeae-positive specimens from symptomatic individuals in South Africa, NG-MAST types were diverse (ST21253 n=26) and quinolone RAMs were common (57.0%).

• Why it matters: Limited culture capacity constrains gonorrhoea surveillance, so molecular typing and resistance detection directly from specimens are needed to track antimicrobial resistance.
• What they did: The study used NG-MAST and targeted real-time PCR on stored DNA extracts, comparing PCR results with WGS and phenotypic susceptibility from paired cultured isolates.
• The result: Real-time PCR matched WGS for parC (81.2% positive agreement) and gyrA (97.0%), detected quinolone RAMs in 60/65 ciprofloxacin-resistant isolates, and found rare 23S rRNA C2611T (one isolate).

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