In vitro antibiotic susceptibilities of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates in the Philippines.

Antibiotic susceptibility surveillance testing was performed on clinical isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae collected in September 1989 in the Philippines. beta-Lactamase was produced by 77 (55%) of 140 isolates. In vitro MIC testing revealed significant resistance to penicillin (MIC for 90% of isolates [MIC90], greater than 64 micrograms/ml), tetracycline (MIC90, 4 micrograms/ml), and cefmetazole (MIC90, 8 micrograms/ml). Spectinomycin resistance was rare (10 of 117), but the MIC90 was 32 micrograms/ml. Isolates were susceptible to fluoroquinolones and cephalosporins at the time of this survey, as evidenced by the MIC90s of ciprofloxacin (0.25 microgram/ml), norfloxacin (2.0 micrograms/ml), ofloxacin (0.625 microgram/ml), cefpodoxime (2.0 micrograms/ml), cefotaxime (1.0 microgram/ml), ceftazidime (0.25 microgram/ml), ceftizoxime (0.25 microgram/ml), and ceftriaxone (0.06 microgram/ml). To date, ceftriaxone resistance has not emerged, despite the widespread use of this antibiotic in the Philippines.

Epidemiology of HIV infection among prostitutes in the Philippines.

Between 1985 and 1987, examinations for human immune deficiency virus (HIV) antibody were done on 25,392 prostitutes working in 64 cities throughout the Philippines. The country-wide seropositivity rate among prostitutes based on this sample was 0.8/1,000. Of the HIV cases, 85% were working in just two cities whose prostitute populations comprised 50% of the total sample. The average incidence rate for the same two cities after 1 year was 2.3/1,000. HIV antibody-positive women were enrolled in a case-control study to determine demographic and epidemiologic risk factors. This study involving 34 HIV-positive prostitutes and 61 randomly selected negative control prostitutes did not reveal any risk factors related to sexual or other types of behavior. A history of genital warts, a history of abnormal vaginal discharge, and cytomegalovirus antibody were significantly more frequent in the HIV-positive cases than in the controls; however, by logistic regression analysis, only an abnormal vaginal discharge was independently associated with HIV infection. Absence of any evidence of transmission by blood transfusion or i.v. drug abuse suggests that HIV was introduced by the heterosexual route.