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. 2017 Oct;66(10):1451-1453.
doi: 10.1099/jmm.0.000584. Epub 2017 Sep 12.

High levels of macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma genitalium in Queensland, Australia

Ella Trembizki  1 , Cameron Buckley  1 , Cheryl Bletchly  2 , Graeme R Nimmo  2 , David M Whiley  2   1
Affiliations

High levels of macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma genitalium in Queensland, Australia

Ella Trembizki et al. J Med Microbiol. 2017 Oct.

Abstract

The macrolide azithromycin is recommended for treatment of Mycoplasma genitalium infection; however, M. genitalium strains possessing macrolide resistance-mediating mutations (MRMMs) are increasingly being reported. Here, we used the SpeeDx ResistancePlus MG kit, which provides simultaneous detection of M. genitalium and MRMMs, to assess MRMM carriage among M. genitalium infections in Queensland, Australia. Performance characteristics of the ResistancePlus MG kit for M. genitalium detection were compared to in-house PCR. Available M. genitalium PCR-positive (n=67) and negative (n=281) samples from the years 2011 to 2017 were tested using the SpeeDx ResistancePlus MG kit. In total, 63.6 % M. genitalium-positive samples were indicated to harbour MRMMs. The ResistancePlus MG method provided sensitivity and specificity of 97 and 99.6 % respectively compared to in-house PCR for M. genitalium detection. Such high levels of macrolide-resistant M. genitalium raise further concerns over future use of azithromycin for treatment of M. genitalium infection.

Keywords: Mycoplasma genitalium; antimicrobial resistance; macrolide.

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Conflict of interest statement

DW reports research funding from SpeeDx Pty Ltd. ET’s salary was provided by SpeeDx Pty Ltd. The ResistancePlus MG kits were provided by SpeeDx Pty Ltd.

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