Penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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Abstract
Of 83 human isolates of N. gonorrhoeae isolated in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between April 1979 and Aug. 1980, 10 produced .beta.-lactamase and had minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of penicillin between 1 and .gtoreq. 4 .mu.g/ml. Of the 73 (88%) non-penicillinase-producing strains, 55% had diminished sensitivity to penicillin (MIC = 0.06 .mu.g/ml) and 11 (15%) were highly resistant (MIC 0.5-2 .mu.g/ml). This high incidence of resistance may be due to widespread abuse of antibiotics; it also confirms that 2 mechanisms of resistance to penicillin exist in this species.