Characterization of two Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains with high-level azithromycin resistance isolated in 2015 and 2018 in Japan.

We identified and characterized the first two Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains with high-level azithromycin resistance isolated in Japan. These were in the clade of ceftriaxone- and azithromycin-resistant strains isolated in Australia and the UK. The MLST, NG-MAST and NG-STAR types of these strains were found in gonococci from eastern Asia.