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Background Gonorrhoea is the most prevalent bacterial sexually transmitted infection globally. It is of grave concern that Neisseria gonorrhoeae has developed resistance to mainly all antimicrobials introduced for treatment. China is located in the WHO Western Pacific Region (WPR), where most gonococcal antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has originated. However, the information regarding AMR and particularly molecular epidemiology of N. gonorrhoeae strains in China is highly limited. This study investigated the AMR and molecular epidemiologic clusters of N. gonorrhoeae in 2007 and 2012 in Nanjing, China. Methods A total of 204 and 82 N. gonorrhoeae isolates were collected in 2007 and 2012, respectively, in Nanjing, China. The susceptibility to ceftriaxone, spectinomycin, ciprofloxacin and tetracycline were tested using agar dilution method, according to the recommendations from CLSI. NG-MAST was performed for molecular epidemiology and full-length porB sequences were used for phylogenetic analysis. Results All (100%) isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, and 41.6% produced β-lactamase. According to the CLSI breakpoints, all (100%) isolates were susceptible to spectinomycin (S Conclusion Ceftriaxone and spectinomycin can continuously be recommended for treatment of gonorrhoea in Nanjing, China. The different molecular epidemiologic clusters in 2007 and 2012 indicate fluctuations in the sexual networks in Nanjing. The identified correlations between NG-MAST STs and MICs of antimicrobials suggest that NG-MAST can supplement the AMR surveillance in China, which needs to be further strengthened.

The objective of this study was to assess the distribution of Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis) genovars in male sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic patients from 1 province in eastern China (Jiangsu) and 3 provinces in southern China (Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan). Urine specimens (n = 140) were collected from 46 public STD clinics in the 4 provinces. Specimens that tested positive for C. trachomatis by polymerase chain reaction were genotyped for the infecting C. trachomatis strain by amplifying and sequencing the genovar-specific ompA gene, which encodes the chlamydial major outer membrane protein. Nine C. trachomatis genovars were identified from 129 specimens; they consisted of the F (25.6%, n = 33), E (17.1%, n = 22), J (16.3%, n = 21), D (15.5%, n = 20), G (11.6%, n = 15), K (5.4%, n = 7), H (3.9%, n = 5), I (1.6%, n = 2), and B (0.8%, n = 1) genovars. Nine genovars were found in specimens from Guangxi province, 6 were found in specimens from each of Guangdong and Hainan provinces, but only 5 were found in specimens from Jiangsu province. Significant differences were observed in C. trachomatis genovar distributions between different provinces: G/Ga was absent among male STD clinic patients (MSPs) from the eastern province of Jiangsu (Fisher exact test = 0.036), while being prevalent in the 3 southern provinces.

Background HIV prevalence among MSM is high, and epidemiological surveys have confirmed that HSV-2 infection can increase the risk of HIV infection and that HIV seroconversion is closely related to HSV-2 infection. In spite of high prevalence of HIV in MSM and strong association between HSV-2 infection and HIV seropositivity, there have been few studies about the prevalence of HSV-2 among MSM in China. To prevent the spread of HIV among this high risk population, there is an urgent need to investigate the HSV-2 prevalence and potential demographic and behavioural risk factors among MSM in China. Methods A total of 1462 men who have sex with men were randomly selected from three regions (Changzhou, Guangzhou and Shenzhen) in China. Sera were tested to estimate the prevalence of HSV-2 (ELISA for the detection of HSV-2 type specific IgG) and HIV (ELISA for screening and WB for confirmation), while univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the degree of association between HSV-2 infection and potential demographic and behavioural risk factors. Results—The prevalence of HSV-2 antibodies was 16.0% (234 out of 1462). Factors independently associated with higher prevalence of HSV-2 antibodies were—age, educational level, exchange of sex for money and HIV status (see Abstract P1-S2.36 table 1). Conclusions The high prevalence of HSV-2 among MSM and strong association between HSV-2 infection and HIV seropositivity suggests the urgent need for intervention to prevent HSV-2 and HIV infections in high-risk MSM in China.