Penicillin and tetracycline sensitivity of Jamaican strains of gonococci

ABSTRACT

The sensitivity of penicillin and tetracycline of 53 strains of gonococci isolated in the Summer of 1971 from routine cases in a clinic in Kingston, Jamaica, has been determined. The level of sensitivity of Jamaican strains to these antibiotics was remarkably similar to the sensitivity to these antibiotics of routine strains isolated over the United States in 1970-71. There was a remarkable correlation of sensitivities to penicillin and tetracycline of individual strains. The similarity of sensitivity of strains in Jamaica to the sensitivity of strains in the United States and the good correlation of the degree of sensitivity of individual strains to the two drugs lend support to the hypothesis of Sparling (1972) and of Maness and Sparling (1973) of a common genetic pathway responsible for the development of most cases of resistance to these antibodies (AU)