Transferable plasmid-mediated resistance to streptomycin in a clinical isolate of Yersinia pestis.
Plasmid-mediated high-level resistance to multiple antibiotics was reported in a clinical isolate of Yersinia pestis in Madagascar in 1997. We describe a second Y. pestis strain with high-level resistance to streptomycin, isolated from a human case of bubonic plague in Madagascar. The resistance determinants were carried by a self-transferable plasmid that could conjugate at high frequencies to other Y. pestis isolates. The plasmid and the host bacterium were different from those previously associated with multiple-drug resistance, indicating that acquisition of resistance plasmids is occurring in this bacterial species. Emergence of resistance to streptomycin in Y. pestis represents a critical public health problem since this antibiotic is used as the first-line treatment against plague in many countries.
Laboratoire des Yersinia, Institut Pasteur, 28 rue du Dr. Roux, 75724 Paris, France.
A
A
Guiyoule
G
G
Gerbaud
C
C
Buchrieser
M
M
Galimand
L
L
Rahalison
S
S
Chanteau
P
P
Courvalin
E
E
Carniel
D003227:Conjugation, Genetic; D006801:Humans; D011815:R Factors; D013307:Streptomycin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015010:Yersinia pestis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics
D013307:Streptomycin