Emerging Trends in Antibiotic Resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae: A National and Hawai'i Perspective

Gonorrhea is the second most common nationally notifiable infectious disease in the United States. Rates have been increasing nationally as have antibiotic-resistant isolates. Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have recognized antibiotic-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae as a major public health threat and have warned of the emerging threat of "untreatable" gonorrhea. Hawai'i has been on the front lines nationally for gonococcal antimicrobial susceptibility surveillance due to its long-standing, statewide gonococcal isolate surveillance program coupled with antibiotic susceptibility testing of all isolates, and Hawai'i's geographic location between Asia where drug-resistant strains originate, and the continental United States. This article highlights emerging trends in and current status of antibiotic resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae from a national and Hawai'i perspective.