Abstract: Zhong Na*, Liu Qiao, Qiao Feng, Zheng Wenai, Wang Fangqian, Wang Liming, Wu Biyu, Fan Hefa. *Hainan Provincial Center for Skin Disease and STD Control, Haikou 570206, China Corresponding author: Liu Qiao, Email: drliuqiao@163.com 【Abstract】 Objective To evaluate the antibiotic resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae （NG） isolates from Hainan province, and to assess their genotypes according to antibiotic resistance-associated genes. Methods Totally, 214 NG strains isolated from Hainan province during 2011－2012 were included in this study. An agar dilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations （MICs） of ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, spectinomycin and tetracycline in these strains. The production of β-lactamase was tested by a paper acidometric method. PCR was performed to amplify the tetM gene in TRNG strains and TEM-1 gene in penicillinase-producing NG （PPNG） strains for their genotyping. Results Among these NG strains, 7.94% （17/214） were moderately sensitive to ciprofloxacin with a resistance rate of 92.06% （197/214）, 24.30% （52/214） were sensitive to ceftriaxone with a moderate sensitivity rate of 75.70% （162/214）, and none was resistant to spectinomycin. Additionally, 39 isolates （18.22%） were concurrently resistant to both tetracycline and penicillin, 66 isolates （30.84%） to penicillin and ciprofloxacin, 91 isolates （42.52.%） to tetracycline and ciprofloxacin, and 37 isolates （17.29%） to tetracycline, penicillin and ciprofloxacin. Totally, 101 TRNG strains were identified from all the isolates, of which, 99 （98.02%） harbored the Dutch variant of the tetM gene, and 2 （1.98%） harbored the American variant. There were 65 （31.31%） PPNG strains in these isolates, among which, 55 （84.62%） carried the Asian type plasmids, 10 （15.38%） carried the Africa type plasmids, and none carried the Toronto or Rio type plasmids. Conclusions The NG isolates from Hainan province is highly sensitive to spectinomycin, which should serve as the first treatment choice for gonorrhea. More attention should be paid to multi-drug resistance in NG. In this region, most PPNG strains carry the Asian type plasmids, followed by the Africa type plasmids, and the Dutch variant of the tetM gene is the most common variant among TRNG strains with the American variant as the occasional form.

Key words: Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Drug resistance, Genes, TetM, Genes, TEM-1, Genotype