Penicillinase-Producing Neisseria Gonorrhoeae in Various Seaport Cities of Latin America

One hundred fifteen acute cases of gonorrhea were documented in U.S. military personnel during a five-month cruise in which 22 port cities of Latin America were visited in 1985. Penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae PPNG was isolated from 23 20 of the 115 cases. No penicillin-resistant, B- lac-tamase-negative gonococci were encountered. None of the ten cases of gonorrhea acquired in the Caribbean region was due to PPNG. In South America, the PPNG infection rate was 35 1954 in ports along the Pacific Ocean and 8 451 in those along the Atlantic. Infections incurred in four cities of three countries on the Pacific coast of the South American continent accounted for 78 of all PPNG isolates. Although the study did not deal directly with infections in the local populations, the data suggest that PPNG are common in coastal South America and that hyperendemic foci exist in some cities of the continents western coast. Keywords Reprints.