Antimicrobial resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae, Taiwan.
Taiwan has one of the highest levels of antibiotic-resistant pneumococcus in the world. Pneumococcal isolates not susceptible to penicillin first appeared in Taiwan in 1986; in 1995 an increase in the prevalence of nonsusceptibility to penicillins, extended-spectrum cephalosporins, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and macrolides as well as multidrug resistance began to be recognized. With the persistence of antibiotic selective pressure, resistance in some antibiotics reached a high plateau (beta-lactam antibiotics) or continued to increase (macrolides), while novel resistance (fluoroquinolones) emerged in the last 3 years. Widespread distribution of some novel resistant 23F and 19F clones (and the international epidemic of 23F clones) contributes further to the rapid increase of resistance. Because Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major pathogen that causes community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections and meningitis in adults and children, antibiotic-resistance in this organism is a serious problem.
Hsueh
Po-Ren
PR
National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan. hsporen@ha.mc.ntu.edu.tw
Luh
Kwen-Tay
KT
D004351:Drug Resistance; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012703:Serotyping; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology