Neisseria gonorrhoeae Antimicrobial Resistance Among Men Who Have Sex With Men and Men Who Have Sex Exclusively With Women: The Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project, 2005–2010

Background: Gonorrhea treatment has been complicated by antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Gonococcal fluoroquinolone resistance emerged more rapidly among men who have sex with men (MSM) than men who have sex exclusively with women (MSW). Objective: To determine whether N. gonorrhoeae urethral isolates from MSM were more likely than isolates from MSW to exhibit resistance to or elevated minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of antimicrobials used to treat gonorrhea. Design: 6 years of surveillance data from the Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project. Setting: Publicly funded sexually transmitted disease clinics in 30 U.S. cities. Patients: Men with a total of 34 600 episodes of symptomatic urethral gonorrhea.