We report the first case in France of a high-level azithromycin-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) = 96 mg/L) assigned to MLST7363 (NG-MAST ST6360), also resistant to ciprofloxacin and tetracycline but susceptible to ceftriaxone. The patient was a 51 year-old heterosexual man who returned following 1g azithromycin monotherapy. Mechanisms of azithromycin resistance were a C2599T mutation in the four copies of the rrl gene and a novel mutation in the promoter of the mtrR gene.The surveillance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) susceptibility to antibiotics in France is based on a voluntary sentinel network of laboratories [1]. In March 2014, the first NG strain showing a high level of azithromycin resistance was isolated from the urine of a 51 year-old man living in the south of France. He had a history of a Chlamydia trachomatis infection 20 years ago. The patient was heterosexual and declared having sex with only two regular female partners (last sexual contact four and ten days before symptoms).
Case descriptionAt the first visit, the patient presented with mild symptoms of urethritis. He was in good general state of health and his HIV test was negative. No microbiological analyses were performed and the patient was treated empirically with a single dose of azithromycin (1 g orally) for suspected C. trachomatis infection. The patient presented again with persisting symptoms 48 hours later. At that time, he was treated empirically with a single dose of spectinomycin (2 g intramuscularly) and bacteriological examination was performed with direct microscopic examination and culture. Culture results indicated the presence of an azithromycin-resistant NG isolate. The absence of C. trachomatis infection was determined retrospectively by negative nucleic acid amplification test. At a third visit, one week later the patient was successfully cured and free of clinical symptoms.In France, the first-line treatment of uncomplicated urogenital gonorrhoea is ceftriaxone (500 mg intramuscularly), whereas spectinomycin is used in cases of contraindication to beta-lactams. For our patient, the clinician chose spectinomycin because of his own prescribing practices. Infection with the azithromycinresistant-strain was presumably acquired in France since neither the patient nor his sexual contacts had travelled in the past six months or had other known sexual contacts. In addition, they had not received any antibiotic treatment in the preceding six months.