Prevalence of mefE, erm and tet(M) genes in Streptococcus pneumoniae strains from Central Italy.
One hundred and seventy-three Streptococcus pneumoniae strains isolated from surveillance studies conducted in daycare centres were studied. The mefE, erm and tet(M) genes were detected in 16.2, 45.1 and 47.4% of isolates respectively. Agreement between PCR results and antibiotic susceptibility patterns was 100%. Macrolide resistance was due to the presence of erm in 73.6% of strains and to the presence of mefE in the remaining 26.4%. All tetracycline resistant strains carried the tet(M) gene. erm was associated with tet(M) in 98.7% of strains, whereas no isolate carrying mefE carried tet(M). A significant association was found between mefE and serogroup 6 (P < 0.0005) and between erm and tet(M) and serogroup 19 (P < 0.00001).
Latini
L
L
Department of Pediatrics, University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy. laurlit@yahoo.com
Ronchetti
M P
MP
Merolla
R
R
Merolla
R
R
Guglielmi
F
F
Bajaksouzian
S
S
Villa
M P
MP
Jacobs
M R
MR
Ronchetti
R
R
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D002648:Child; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D055231:Lincosamides; D018942:Macrolides; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013754:Tetracyclines / Q000494:pharmacology
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D055231:Lincosamides; D018942:Macrolides; D013754:Tetracyclines