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The Australian Gonococcal Surveillance Programme, established in 1981, has continuously monitored antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae for more than 40 years. In 2021, a total of 6,254 isolates from patients in the public and private sectors, in all jurisdictions, were tested for in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility by standardised methods. The current treatment recommendation for gonorrhoea, for the majority of Australia, continues to be dual therapy with ceftriaxone and azithromycin. In 2021, of isolates tested, 0.9% were reported nationally with decreased susceptibility (DS) to ceftriaxone (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] value ≥ 0.06 mg/L). There was one isolate from non-remote Western Australia that was resistant to ceftriaxone (MIC value ≥ 0.25 mg/L). Resistance to azithromycin (MIC value ≥ 1.0 mg/L) was reported nationally in 4.7% of N. gonorrhoeae isolates. This is increased from that reported in 2020 (3.9%) but similar to the percentage reported in 2019 (4.6%). Isolates with high-level resistance to azithromycin (MIC value ≥ 256 mg/L) are identified sporadically in Australia; none were reported in 2021. In 2021, penicillin resistance was found in 38% of gonococcal isolates nationally, and ciprofloxacin resistance in 53%; however, there is considerable variation by jurisdiction. In some remote settings, penicillin resistance remains low; in these settings, penicillin continues to be recommended as part of an empiric therapy strategy. In 2021, in remote Northern Territory, one penicillin-resistant isolate was reported, and in remote Western Australia 2/83 of gonococcal isolates (2.4 %) were penicillin resistant. There were two ciprofloxacin-resistant isolates reported from remote Northern Territory; ciprofloxacin resistance rates remain comparatively low in remote Western Australia (3/83; 3.6 %)., (© Commonwealth of Australia CC BY-NC-ND.)

Abstract: The Australian Gonococcal Surveillance Programme (AGSP), established in 1981, has continuously monitored antimicrobial resistance in clinical isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae for more than 40 years. In 2020, a total of 7,222 clinical isolates of gonococci from patients in the public and private sectors, in all jurisdictions, were tested for in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility by standardised methods. Current treatment recommendations for gonorrhoea, for the majority of Australia, continues to be dual therapy with ceftriaxone and azithromycin. In 2020, decreased susceptibility (DS) to ceftriaxone (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] value ≥ 0.06 mg/L) was found nationally in 0.9% of isolates. There was one isolate, reported from Victoria in 2020, that was resistant to ceftriaxone (MIC value ≥ 0.25 mg/L). Resistance to azithromycin (MIC value ≥ 1.0 mg/L) was found nationally in 3.9% of N. gonorrhoeae isolates, continuing a downward trend observed and reported since 2017. Isolates with high-level resistance to azithromycin (MIC value ≥ 256 mg/L) are identified sporadically in Australia; in 2020, there was one such isolate reported in Queensland. In 2020, penicillin resistance was found in 27% of gonococcal isolates nationally, and ciprofloxacin resistance in 36%; however, there is considerable variation by jurisdiction. In some remote settings, penicillin resistance remains low, and this drug continues to be recommended as part of an empiric therapy strategy. In 2020, in remote Northern Territory, no penicillin resistance was reported, and in remote Western Australia 5/116 of gonococcal isolates (4.3%) were penicillin resistant. There was one ciprofloxacin-resistant isolate reported from remote Northern Territory, and ciprofloxacin resistance rates remain comparatively low in remote Western Australia (4/116; 3.4%)., (© Commonwealth of Australia CC BY-NC-ND.)

Abstract: The key issues with Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections, in Australia and elsewhere, are coincident increases in disease rates and in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), although these factors have not been shown to be correlated. Despite advances in diagnosis, control of this disease remains elusive, and incidence in Australia continues to increase. Of the Australian jurisdictions, New South Wales (NSW) has the highest N. gonorrhoeae notifications, and over the five-year period 2015-2019, notifications in NSW have increased above the national average (by 116% versus 85%, respectively). Gonococcal disease control is reliant on effective antibiotic regimens. However, escalating AMR in N. gonorrhoeae is a global health priority, as the collateral injury of untreated infections has substantive impacts on sexual and newborn health. Currently, our first-line therapy for gonorrhoea is also our last line, with no ideal alternative identified. Despite some limitations, gentamicin is licensed and readily available in Australia, and is proposed for treatment of resistant N. gonorrhoeae in national guidelines; however, supportive published microbiological data are lacking. Analysis of gonococcal resistance patterns within Australia for the period 1991-2019, including 35,000 clinical isolates from NSW, illustrates the establishment and spread of population-level resistance to all contemporaneous therapies. An analysis of gentamicin susceptibility on 2,768 N. gonorrhoeae clinical isolates from NSW, for the period 2015-2020, demonstrates that the median minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for gentamicin in NSW has remained low, at 4.0 mg/L, and resistance was not detected in any isolate. There has been no demonstration of MIC drift over time (p = 0.91, Kruskal-Wallis test), nor differences in MIC distributions according to patients' sex or site of specimen collection. This is the first large-scale evaluation of gentamicin susceptibility in N. gonorrhoeae in Australia. No gentamicin resistance was detected in clinical isolates, 2015-2020, hence this is likely to be an available treatment option for resistant gonococcal infections in NSW., (© Commonwealth of Australia CC BY-NC-ND.)

Abstract: This study investigated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles from a cohort of patients with bacterial keratitis treated at Sydney Eye Hospital, 1 January 2017 - 31 December 2018. These AMR profiles were analysed in the context of the current Australian empiric regimens for topical therapy: ciprofloxacin/ofloxacin monotherapy versus combination therapy of cefalotin/cephazolin plus gentamicin. At our Centre, combinations of (i) chloramphenicol plus gentamicin and (ii) chloramphenicol plus ciprofloxacin are alternatively used, so were also analysed. Three hundred and seventy-four isolates were cultured prospectively: 280/374 (75%) were gram positive, and 94/374 (25%) were gram negative. Coagulase-negative staphylococci comprised 173/374 (46%). Isolates included Staphylococcus aureus (n = 43/374) 11%; Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 14/374) 3.7%; and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 50/374) 13%. Statistical comparison was performed. There was no significant difference between cover provided either of the current Australian recommendations: ciprofloxacin/ofloxacin vs cefalotin/cephazolin plus gentamicin (5.3% vs 4.8%, respectively; p = 0.655). However, the combination of chloramphenicol plus an anti-pseudomonal agent (ciprofloxacin/ofloxacin or gentamicin) had significantly improved cover. Chloramphenicol plus gentamicin was superior to ciprofloxacin/ofloxacin (1.9% vs 5.3% resistance respectively; p = 0.007), and cefalotin/cephazolin plus gentamicin (1.9% vs 4.8%; p = 0.005). Chloramphenicol plus ciprofloxacin was superior to ciprofloxacin/ofloxacin monotherapy (1.3% vs 5.3%; p ≤ 0.001), and to cefalotin/cephazolin plus gentamicin (1.3% vs 4.8%; p = 0.003). Chloramphenicol plus gentamicin versus chloramphenicol plus ciprofloxacin/ofloxacin were equivalent (p = 0.48). There was no demonstrated in vitro superiority of either the current empiric antibiotic regimens. For our setting, for bacterial keratitis, chloramphenicol in combination offered superior in vitro cover. Broadened surveillance for ocular AMR is urgently needed across jurisdictions., (© Commonwealth of Australia CC BY-NC-ND.)

The Australian Gonococcal Surveillance Programme (AGSP) has continuously monitored antimicrobial resistance in clinical isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae since 1981. In 2019, a total of 9,668 clinical isolates of gonococci from the public and private sector in all jurisdictions were tested for in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility by standardised methods. The current treatment recommendation for gonorrhoea, for the majority of Australia, continues to be dual therapy with ceftriaxone and azithromycin. Decreased susceptibility (DS) to ceftriaxone (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] value ≥ 0.06 mg/L) was found nationally in 1.3% of isolates. Five N. gonorrhoeae clinical isolates were ceftriaxone-resistant (MIC value ≥ 0.25 mg/L), and therefore also resistant to penicillin; all were resistant to ciprofloxacin but susceptible to azithromycin. These isolates were reported from Victoria (3), non-remote Western Australia (1) and New South Wales (1). Resistance to azithromycin (MIC value ≥ 1.0 mg/L) was found nationally in 4.6% of N. gonorrhoeae isolates, continuing a downward trend observed and reported since 2017. Isolates with high-level resistance to azithromycin (MIC value ≥ 256 mg/L) continue to be reported sporadically in Australia, with eight detected in 2019: two each from New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria, and one each from Tasmania and non-remote Western Australia. In 2019, in Australia, 2,136 gonococcal isolates (22.1%) were penicillin resistant; however, there remains considerable variation by jurisdiction, and in some remote settings there is little resistance and this drug is recommended empiric therapy. In 2019, in the remote Northern Territory, no penicillin resistance was reported, however in remote Western Australia six out of 85 isolates (7.1%) were penicillin resistant. There was no ciprofloxacin resistance reported from isolates tested from remote regions of the Northern Territory, and ciprofloxacin resistance rates remain comparatively low (7/85; 8.2%) in remote Western Australia., (© Commonwealth of Australia CC BY-NC-ND.)