Carriage and antimicrobial susceptibility of commensal Neisseria species from the human oropharynx

The study analyzed the carriage and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Commensal Neisseria (Nc) in 50 participants’ oropharynx. The majority of Nc species were found to be N. subflava, with resistance rates above the WHO threshold of 5%. Whole genome sequencing identified AMR genes to macrolides and tetracycline, with two clusters containing gonococcal DNA uptake sequences. This suggests that Nc may have potential AMR gene pool and transfer sequences causing resistance to pathogenic Neisseria.