• Media type: E-Article
  • Title: Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Eight European Countries from 2001 to 2003
  • Contributor: Reinert, Ralf René; Reinert, Susanne; van der Linden, Mark; Cil, Murat Y.; Al-Lahham, Adnan; Appelbaum, Peter
  • Published: American Society for Microbiology, 2005
  • Published in: Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 49 (2005) 7, Seite 2903-2913
  • Language: English
  • DOI: 10.1128/aac.49.7.2903-2913.2005
  • ISSN: 0066-4804; 1098-6596
  • Origination:
  • Footnote:
  • Description: <jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title> <jats:p> Susceptibility testing results for <jats:italic>Streptococcus pneumoniae</jats:italic> isolates ( <jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 2,279) from eight European countries, examined in the PneumoWorld Study from 2001 to 2003, are presented. Overall, 24.6% of <jats:italic>S. pneumoniae</jats:italic> isolates were nonsusceptible to penicillin G and 28.0% were resistant to macrolides. The prevalence of resistance varied widely between European countries, with the highest rates of penicillin G and macrolide resistance reported from Spain and France. Serotype 14 was the leading serotype among penicillin G- and macrolide-resistant <jats:italic>S. pneumoniae</jats:italic> isolates. One strain (PW 158) showed a combination of an efflux type of resistance with a 23S rRNA mutation (A2061G, pneumococcal numbering; A2059G, <jats:italic>Escherichia coli</jats:italic> numbering). Six strains which showed negative results for <jats:italic>mef</jats:italic> (A) and <jats:italic>erm</jats:italic> (B) in repeated PCR assays had mutations in 23S rRNA or alterations in the L4 ribosomal protein (two strains). Fluoroquinolone resistance rates (levofloxacin MIC ≥ 4 μg/ml) were low (Austria, 0%; Belgium, 0.7%; France, 0.9%; Germany, 0.4%; Italy, 1.3%; Portugal, 1.2%; Spain, 1.0%; and Switzerland, 0%). Analysis of quinolone resistance-determining regions showed eight strains with a Ser81 alteration in <jats:italic>gyrA</jats:italic> ; 13 of 18 strains showed a Ser79 alteration in <jats:italic>parC</jats:italic> . The clonal profile, as analyzed by multilocus sequence typing (MLST), showed that the 18 fluoroquinolone-resistant strains were genetically heterogeneous. Seven of the 18 strains belonged to new sequence types not hitherto described in the MLST database. Europe-wide surveillance for monitoring of the further spread of these antibiotic-resistant <jats:italic>S. pneumoniae</jats:italic> clones is warranted. </jats:p>
  • Access State: Open Access