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. 2023 Apr 13:151:e67.
doi: 10.1017/S0950268823000523.

Decreased Neisseria gonorrhoeae genotypic diversity following COVID-19 restrictions in Queensland, Australia 2020

Bushra Alharbi  1   2 , Amy V Jennison  3 , Vicki Hicks  3 , David M Whiley  1   4 , Emma Sweeney  1 , Ella Trembizki  1
Affiliations

Decreased Neisseria gonorrhoeae genotypic diversity following COVID-19 restrictions in Queensland, Australia 2020

Bushra Alharbi et al. Epidemiol Infect. .

Abstract

We investigated the potential effects of COVID-19 public health restrictions on the prevalence and distribution of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) genotypes in our Queensland isolate population in the first half of the year 2020. A total of 763 NG isolates were genotyped to examine gonococcal strain distribution and prevalence for the first 6 months of 2020, with 1 January 2020 to 31 March 2020 classified as 'pre' COVID-19 restrictions (n = 463) and 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020 classified as 'post' COVID-19 restrictions (n = 300). Genotypes most prevalent 'pre' restrictions remained proportionally high 'post' restrictions, with some significantly increasing 'post' restrictions. However, genotype diversity was significantly reduced 'post' restrictions. Overall, it seems public health restrictions (9-10 weeks) were not sufficient to affect rates of infection or reduce the prevalence of well-established genotypes in our population, potentially due to reduced access to services or health-seeking behaviours.

Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; COVID-19; Epidemiology; Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Sexually transmitted infections; genotyping.

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Conflict of interest statement

D.M.W. declares research funding from SpeeDx Pty Ltd. unrelated to this body of work. All other authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Proportion of the most common genotypes in Queensland pre and post COVID-19 restrictions for the first 6 months of 2020. Graph (a) represents the female and male proportions for each genotype and graph (b) represents the regional proportions for each genotype. Abbreviations: not provided, isolates without regional data; SEQ, South East Queensland
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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