Retrospective screening for heterogeneous vancomycin resistance in diverse Staphylococcus aureus clones disseminated in French hospitals.
Twenty-five different Staphylococcus aureus strains that are widespread in France were screened by various methods for heterogeneous and low-level resistance to vancomycin. Population analysis on brain-heart infusion agar containing 4 mg/L of the drug detected resistant cells at frequencies of 10-7 to 10-6 in five multiply resistant strains. There was no antagonism between vancomycin and beta-lactam antibiotics. One of the five strains, isolated in 1993, was considered a putative progenitor of a French nosocomial S. aureus strain isolated in 1998 and for which the vancomycin MIC was 8 mg/L.
Chesneau
O
O
French National Reference Centre for Staphylococci, Unité des Staphylocoques, Institut Pasteur, 28, rue du Docteur Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.
Morvan
A
A
Solh
N E
NE
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology; D003470:Culture Media; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects*; D014640:Vancomycin / Q000494:pharmacology*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D003470:Culture Media; D014640:Vancomycin