The primary aim of the Australian Gonococcal Surveillance Programme (AGSP) is to monitor the antibiotic susceptibility of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. In 1999 the AGSP examined 3,740 isolates of gonococci from all States and Territories. The rates and sites of infection and antibiotic susceptibility patterns varied considerably between regions, reflecting the considerable differences between non-urba...

Gonococcal infections can no longer be considered exclusively urogenital but it is difficult in a busy routine laboratory to identify gonococci from non-genital sites, especially if other commensal neisseria are present. Unfortunately, conventional serum agar sugars sometimes give equivocal results. A fermentation medium is described for the identification of gonoccoci. On preliminary testing t...

The incidence of acute gonococcal and nongonococcal salpingitis for a five-year-period (1970--74) was studied retrospectively in an urban area of central Sweden. The investigation was undertaken to see if the reported decrease of gonorrhoea in Sweden had been followed by a change in the incidence of gonococcal salpingitis--the most common complication of gonorrhoea. The study showed that the re...

Screening and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in pregnancy represents an overlooked opportunity to improve the health outcomes of women and infants worldwide. Although Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common treatable bacterial STI, few countries have routine pregnancy screening and treatment programs. We reviewed the current literature surrounding Chlamydia trachomatis in ...

The Australian Gonococcal Surveillance Programme (AGSP) is a laboratory network that monitors the susceptibility of gonococcal isolates to antibiotics used in the treatment of infection. This report evaluates and reports on the simplicity, flexibility, sensitivity, representativeness, timeliness and acceptability of the AGSP. The World Health Organization's (WHO) Questionnaire for Assessment of...

Erythromycin ophthalmic ointment (E. Fougera & Co., Melville, N.Y.) and erythromycin gluceptate standards prepared in ointment base were stored at room temperature and heated at temperatures up to 45 degrees C for as long as 6 h before being assayed for bioactivity. We were unable to detect any significant loss of antibiotic bioactivity.

Experience with a quality control programme for a multicentric collaborative study of antibiotic susceptibility of Neisseria gonorrhoeae is described. The Australian Gonococcal Surveillance Programme (AGSP) has monitored the antibiotic sensitivity of gonococci by surveying results of quantitative sensitivity tests performed in a number of centres throughout the country since 1981. A standardise...

Inflammation of conjunctiva is a common condition, which presents with varying degrees of severity. A clinical trial was conducted in 20 patients who presented with the signs and symptoms of acute and chronic conjunctivitis. After the examination and conjunctival smear tests, patients were advised to instil OphthaCare eye drops. Majority of patients responded right from the first week and major...