[Incidence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections in Belgium: trends 2000-2006].

In Belgium, three registration systems collect epidemiological information on N. gonorrhoeae infections. The descriptive analysis of the data presented in this article allows describing the epidemiology of N. gonorrhoeae infections in Belgium in terms of trends in time, describing the characteristics of the patients, and providing information on resistance to antibiotics. The results on the incidence of N. gonorrhoeae infections show an important increase since the year 2000, and this increase is even more pronounced between 2005 and 2006. The majority of the patients reside in big cities, mainly in the district of Antwerp and in the Brussels-Capital region. Among the N. gonorrhoeae specimens that were sent to the reference laboratory, the proportion of specimens resistant to ciprofloxacine increases each year; this proportion reaches 61.4% in 2006. The increase in the incidence of N. gonorrhoeae infections and in antimicrobial resistance is also observed in other European countries. The increase in incidence may be partly related to the important increase of resistance to ciprofloxacine. It is very important to continue the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance, to adapt treatment in function of the recent evolutions and to inform physicians at a regular basis. The results show that homo- and bisexual men are most at risk for N. gonorrhoeae infections. The prevention campaigns for sexually transmitted infections and screening policy have to be reinforced, particularly among homo- and bisexual men.