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Introduction. Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a human commensal bacterium that is also associated with infection in pregnant and non-pregnant adults, neonates and elderly people. Gap Statement. The authors hypothesize that knowledge of regional GBS genetic patterns may allow the use of prevention and treatment measures to reduce the burden of streptococcal disease. Aim. The aim was to report the genotypic diversity and antimicrobial sensitivity profiles of invasive, noninvasive urinary and colonizing GBS strains, and evaluate the relationships between these findings. Methodology. The study included consecutive and non-duplicated GBS isolates recovered in southern Brazil from 2015 to 2017. We performed multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) and PCR analyses to determine capsular serotypes and identify the presence of the resistance genes mefA/E, ermB and ermA/TR, and also antibiotic susceptibility testing. Results. The sample consisted of 348 GBS strains, 42 MLVA types were identified, and 4 of them represented 64 % of isolates. Serotype Ia was the most prevalent (42.2 %) and was found in a higher percentage associated with colonization, followed by serotypes V (24.4 %), II (17.8 %) and III (7.8 %). Serotype V was associated with invasive isolates and serotypes II and III with noninvasive isolates, without significant differences. All isolates were susceptible to penicillin. GBS 2018/ hvgA was observed in 17 isolates, with 11 belonging to serogroup III. The Hunter–Gaston diversity index was calculated as 0.879. The genes mefA/E, erm/B and erm/A/TR were found in 45, 19 and 46 isolates. Conclusion. This report suggests that the circulating GBS belong to a limited number of genetic lineages. The most common genotypes were Ia/MT12 and V/MT18, which are associated with high resistance to macrolides and the presence of the genes mefA/E and ermA/TR. Penicillin remains the antibiotic of choice. Implementation of continuous surveillance of GBS infections will be essential to assess GBS epidemiology and develop accurate GBS prevention, especially strategies associated with vaccination.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a major concern of public health due to its extraordinary capacity to develop and acquire resistance to different antimicrobials used to treat gonorrhoea. Limited treatment options and uncontrolled transmission have raised the need to assess the antimicrobial susceptibility profile of the isolates and to establish affordable alternatives for laboratory diagnosis.This study aimed to (i) determine the susceptibility profile of 336 clinical isolates of N. gonorrhoeae to ceftriaxone, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, spectinomycin and gentamicin by the gold standard agar dilution method; (ii) assess the agreement among agar dilution and disc diffusion results for ciprofloxacin, azithromycin, ceftriaxone, spectinomycin and gentamicin.All isolates were susceptible to ceftriaxone and spectinomycin. The levels of resistance to azithromycin and ciprofloxacin were 3.9% and 35.1%, respectively. Intermediate susceptibility to gentamicin was observed in 19.4% of isolates. There was 100% agreement between methods for spectinomycin and ceftriaxone, 99.7% for ciprofloxacin, and 85.7% for azithromycin. For gentamicin, there was 86.3% agreement between agar dilution and disc diffusion, resulting in intermediate susceptible by one method and susceptible by the other method, defined as minor errors. The discordance among agar dilution and disc diffusion results is acceptable for ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone and spectinomycin as per CLSI M23-Ed4.Spectinomycin and gentamicin can be considered in some cases as options for the treatment of gonorrhoea in Brazil. Disc diffusion can be an alternative method in routine testing with comparable accuracy to agar dilution.