Evaluation of Drugs with Therapeutic Potential for Susceptibility of Neisseria Gonorrhoeae Isolates from 8 Provinces in China from 2018

Xiao-Li Zheng,1,2 Wen-Qi Xu,1,2 Jing-Wei Liu,1,2 Xiao-Yu Zhu,1,2 Shao-Chun Chen,1,2 Yan Han,1,2 Xiu-Qin Dai,1,2 Isabelle Griffin Goodman,3 Christoph Budjan,4,5 Xiang-Sheng Chen,1,2 Yue-Ping Yin1,2 1Institute of Dermatology and Hospital for Skin Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China; 2National Center for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China; 3Boston University, Boston, MA, USA; 4Department of Data Sciences, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA; 5Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USACorrespondence: Yue-Ping YinInstitute of Dermatology and Hospital for Skin Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, No. 12, Jiangwangmiao Street, Nanjing 210042, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86 258 547 8024Email yinyp@ncstdlc.orgPurpose: The study aimed to evaluate meropenem, fosfomycin, berberine hydrochloride, and doxycycline minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of Neisseria gonorrhoeae collected from eight provinces in China in 2018.Methods: The MICs of 540 Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates (451 isolates selected randomly and 89 isolates selected with preference) were determined to meropenem, fosfomycin, berberine hydrochloride, and doxycycline using the agar dilution method, and the MICs of ceftriaxone and azithromycin were detected for comparison.Results: Among 451 randomly selected isolates, the MIC90 was 0.06 mg/L for meropenem, 64 mg/L for fosfomycin, 64 mg/L for berberine hydrochloride, and 16 mg/L for doxycycline. All isolates showed the MIC ≤ 0.125 mg/L to meropenem, 13 isolates (2.9%) showed MIC > 64 mg/L to fosfomycin, 8 isolates (1.8%) demonstrated MIC > 64 mg/L to berberine hydrochloride, and 271 isolates (60.1%) demonstrated MIC > 1 mg/L to doxycycline. Comparing all