International Journal of STD & AIDS > Volume 20, Number 6 > Pp. 414-417

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Original research articles

To what extent does Neisseria gonorrhoeae multiantigen sequence typing of gonococcal isolates support information derived from patient interviews?

K Abu-Rajab MRCP DipGUM ^* , H M Palmer PhD , A Scoular FRCP MFPH , S Church PhD , J Connell MA , G Hart PhD  and A J Winter FRCP PhD ^*

^* Sandyford, 2-6 Sandyford Place, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G3 7NB; Scottish Bacterial Sexually Transmitted Infections Reference Laboratory (SBSTIRL), Laboratory Medicine (Microbiology), Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, 51 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh EH16 4SA; MRC Social & Public Health Sciences Unit, 4 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RZ, UK

Correspondence to: Dr Kirsty Abu-Rajab Email: kirsty.abu-rajab{at}nhs.net

Gonococcal isolates from genitourinary (GU) medicine clinic attendees in Glasgow, Scotland were typed using Neisseria gonorrhoeae multiantigen sequence typing (NG-MAST). Correlation between named partners (contacts) and NG-MAST type was sought and associations between specific NG-MAST types, and the social, epidemiological and geographical data were explored. We found NG-MAST typing to be a supportive and confirmatory tool for contact tracing. Specific NG-MAST types were found to be associated with distinct characteristics such as sexuality or chlamydial co-infection. An increased number of gonococcal infections were reported from those resident in deprived areas of Glasgow than from those resident in more affluent areas. However, there was no clear geographic clustering of specific NG-MAST types found within the city. Routinely observing the spread of common strains of gonorrhoea is likely best done from a larger geographical perspective unless a specific outbreak occurs.

Key Words: epidemiology • Neisseria gonorrhoeae • NG-MAST • partner notification

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