Rapid emergence of penicillin-resistant pneumococci in Hong Kong.
The prevalence of penicillin resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, rose from 6.6% of sputum isolates in the first quarter of 1993 to 55.8% of isolates in the second quarter of 1995. Most of the isolates were also resistant to co-trimoxazole, tetracycline, choramphenicol and erythromycin. Type 19F was the most common capsular type in 1993-1994, comprising 40.0% of typed isolates in this period. Type 23F emerged in 1995 as the predominant type, making up 62.2% of typed isolates in the first 2 quarters of 1995. A high population density and excessive community use of antibiotics are likely to be factors promoting the rapid emergence of multiply-resistant pneumococci in Hong Kong.
Department of Microbiology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong.
D J
DJ
Lyon
O
O
Scheel
K S
KS
Fung
A F
AF
Cheng
J
J
Henrichsen
D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D018432:Drug Resistance, Multiple; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010403:Penicillin Resistance; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D012703:Serotyping; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects*