Abstract

Of 1081 patients with gonorrhoea treated with probenecid 1 g orally and benzyl penicillin 5 megaunits intramuscularly, 96.7% were cured and no complications were encountered. This treatment regimen was associated with a pronounced reduction in the proportion of gonococcal strains showing diminished sensitivity to penicillin, from 51% to between 4% and 14% over a period of four years. When this treatment method was abandoned, however, the percentage of less sensitive strains rose to 33% over the following 18 months.