Mosaic Penicillin-Binding Protein 2 in Neisseria gonorrhoeae Isolates Collected in 2008 in San Francisco, California

Using a real-time PCR assay specific for a mosaic penA allele that has been associated with oral cephalosporin resistance in Asia, 54 available Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates collected in San Francisco, CA, from January to October 2008 were analyzed. Five isolates tested positive for the mosaic penA gene by real-time PCR. DNA sequencing revealed two mosaic penA alleles (SF-A and SF-B). Isolates with SF-A and SF-B alleles possessed elevated MICs for the oral cephalosporins cefpodoxime and cefixime.