title: Prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae circulating in Italy: results of the Italian Epidemiological Observatory Survey (1997-1999).
abstract: The Italian Epidemiological Observatory (IEO), a surveillance program supported by the SmithKline Foundation, analyzed the susceptibility of 2,664 community-acquired respiratory Streptococcus pneumoniae derived from over 50 clinical microbiology laboratories during 1997-1999, against 21 antibiotics adopting a quantitative methodology. Throughout these years, total penicillin resistance varied from 14.3% to 10.2%. High-level resistance has remained stable, ranging from 3.8% to 4.1%, while a decrease in low-level resistance (from 10.3% to 6.1%) has been recorded. Lack of susceptibility to macrolides ranged from 29.1% in 1997 to 25.5% in 1999. Similar figures have also been observed with tetracycline and co-trimoxazole (rates of resistance around 30%). As expected, large geographical variations in resistance rates were found for all drugs. Amoxicillin and amoxicillin-clavulanate were 100% active on penicillin-intermediate isolates. Injectable third-generation cephalosporins and carbapenems were also capable of inhibiting a large proportion of these microorganisms. Rifampin was the most potent non-beta-lactam compound tested. In contrast to the situation prevailing elsewhere, in Italian children (aged 0-5 years) presenting with respiratory conditions, the total rate of penicillin resistance (3%) was lower than that shown by the adult population (10.9%). However, lack of susceptibility to macrolides, tetracycline, and cotrimoxazole (35%, 41%, 44%) was more incident in pediatric than in adult patients (25%, 26%, 28% respectively). Strains recovered from blood in 1999 (67) were much more susceptible to penicillin (98.5%) than respiratory pneumococci (89.8%), whereas macrolides, tetracycline, and cotrimoxazole were consistently less active (75%, 67%, 64%).
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, University of Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marchese
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mannelli
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tonoli
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gorlero
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toni
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Schito
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004351:Drug Resistance; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D007769:Lactams; D010403:Penicillin Resistance / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D007769:Lactams