Erythromycin-resistant pharyngeal isolates of Streptococcus pyogenes recovered in Italy.
Three classes of macrolide resistance phenotypes and three different erythromycin resistance determinants were found among 127 erythromycin-resistant group A streptococcal (GAS) isolates recovered from 355 (35.8%) pediatric pharyngitis patients in Rome, Italy. According to emm and sof sequence typing results, erythromycin-resistant isolates comprised 11 different clonal types. Remarkably, 126 of the 127 macrolide-resistant isolates were serum opacity factor (sof) gene positive. These data suggest a strong association between macrolide resistance and the presence of sof among GAS isolates recovered from Italian pediatric pharyngitis patients.
Dicuonzo
Giordano
G
Department of Laboratory Medicine. Hospital Infection Control Program, Università Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy.
Fiscarelli
Ersilia
E
Gherardi
Giovanni
G
Lorino
Giulia
G
Battistoni
Fabrizio
F
Landi
Simona
S
De Cesaris
Marina
M
Petitti
Tommasangelo
T
Beall
Bernard
B
D002648:Child; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D004917:Erythromycin / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D010614:Pharynx / Q000382:microbiology*; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*
D004917:Erythromycin