Prevalence and identification of tetracycline-resistant oral bacteria in children not receiving antibiotic therapy.
The prevalence of tetracycline-resistant oral bacteria in healthy 4- and 6-year-old children who had not received antibiotics during the 3 months prior to sampling was investigated. Of the 47 children sampled, 46 harboured tetracycline-resistant bacteria. The median proportion of cultivable anaerobic and aerobic oral bacteria resistant to tetracycline was 1.1% and the MIC50 of these was 64 microg ml(-1). The majority (56%) of tetracycline-resistant bacteria were resistant to at least one other antibiotic, usually erythromycin. The most commonly identified tetracycline-resistant bacteria were the oral streptococci (65%), the next most prevalent groups were Veillonella spp. (10%) and Neisseria spp. (9%). The most frequently identified tetracycline resistance determinant was tet(M). The results of this study have shown that tetracycline-resistant oral bacteria were widespread amongst the children studied.
Lancaster
Holli
H
Eastman Dental Institute for Oral Health Care Sciences, University College London, 256 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8LD, UK.
Ready
Derren
D
Mullany
Peter
P
Spratt
David
D
Bedi
Raman
R
Wilson
Michael
M
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D013753:Tetracycline Resistance
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents