Prevalence, socio-demographic factors and antimicrobial susceptibility of neisseria gonorrhoea among men presenting with urethral discharge at Mulago and Murchison-bay Hospitals.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Neisseria gonorrhoea remains a major sexually transmitted infection that is believed to be associated with increased risk of HIV transmission. It has shown an ever evolving pattern of increasing resistance to antimicrobial therapy. The current prevalence of neisseria gonorrhoea infections and its antimicrobial susceptibility pattern in Uganda are largely unknown. The study is an attempt to fill that knowledge gap. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of neisseria gonorrhoea among men presenting with urethra discharge at the Mulago STD clinic and Luzira Murchison bay prison hospital. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out at Mulago Hospital STD clinic and Murchison bay hospital between October 2007 and July 2008. METHOD: A total of 216 males aged 18 years old and above with complaints of urethral discharge were enrolled into the study. Urethra swabs were collected and cultured for neisseria gonorrhoea. RESULTS: Of the 216 participants, 190 (88%) were from the Mulago STD clinic and 26 (12%) from the Luzira M/Bay prison hospital. A total of 119 (55%) of the 216 participants were culture positive for neisseria gonorrhoea. Risk factors for gonorrhoea infection included age below 29 years, being married and being a civil servant. The isolates showed high rates of resistance to ciprofloxacin (31%) and co-trimoxazole (83%) However, all isolates were susceptible to ceftriaxone and imipenem CONCLUSION: This study has revealed that neisseria gonorrhoea is still a major cause of urethral discharge among males in Kampala and has demonstrated the emergence of high rates of quinolone resistant neisseria gonorrhoea (QRNG).