Surveillance of antibiotic resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the WHO Western Pacific Region, 2001. World Health Organization.

A long-term program of surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolated in the World Health Organization's Western Pacific Region (WHO WPR GASP) continued in 2001. Seventeen focal points contributed data on about 10,000 gonococci. Resistance to quinolone and penicillin antibiotics remained widely dispersed and at high levels. Gonococci with decreased susceptibility to third generation cephalosporins were again observed in four centres. Spectinomycin resistance was infrequently encountered. Control of gonorrhoea in the WHO WPR is compromised by the further reduction in options for cheap and effective treatment of gonorrhoea.