Surveillance of antibiotic susceptibility of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the western Pacific.

Genitourin Med 331 1997;73:331-332 GENITOURINARY MEDICINE Early warning From 1998 the tide of Genitourinary Medicine will become Sexually Transmitted Infections Editorial Surveillance of antibiotic of Neisseria susceptibility gonorrhoeae in the Western Pacific at least if an International surveillance for can't be Surveillance is a "good thing," you're gonorrhoea really what is it for? In what is the belief that control will cut the epidemiologist. But particular, justified by gonorrhoea based surveillance incidence ofnew infections of as the authors suggest. an international laboratory programme HIV, in diseases for? least one well known study in Africa suggests sexually transmitted Although at A recent review in these that surveil- can decrease HIV infection,3 and pages suggested that STD control be used to determine the need we would all wish this generally to be lance programmes could although devoutly the such interventions are not going to be made at for public health action, to assess the effectiveness case, to set for and resource level and won't on of programmes, priorities planning the regional depend regional registries. risk for inter- Surveillance for resistance in needs a justifica- allocation, and to define high subgroups gonorrhoea all laudable The trouble tion of its own. vention.' These are objectives. is, same this kind of surveillance should be of as one can't do all of them well at the time, particularly Probably thought have much So what are the actual two different raisons d'etre, from the two points of if one doesn't money. having surveillance of view involved. From...