title: Prevalent mechanisms of resistance among common enterobacterial isolates in Greek hospitals.
abstract: The recent data concerning antibiotic resistance of the enterobacteria isolated in Greek hospitals are reviewed. A variety of mechanisms of resistance, clustered in most of the cases, was observed. Epidemics of plasmids were responsible for dissemination of third-generation cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, and trimethoprim resistance among Klebsiella pneumoniae and, to a lesser extent, Escherichia coli isolates. Stable depression of the expression of chromosomal cephalosporinase is the main cause of resistance to third-generation cephalosporins observed at high frequencies in Enterobacter spp. strains.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Medical School, University of Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Legakis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maniatis
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Tzouvelekis
mesh_terms: D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial / Q000235:genetics*; D004754:Enterobacter / Q000187:drug effects; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D004756:Enterobacteriaceae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007711:Klebsiella pneumoniae / Q000187:drug effects