title: The Sentinel Project: an update on the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in community-acquired respiratory Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus spp. in Italy.
abstract: A total of 460 Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus spp. collected from respiratory infections during 2000 was tested for their susceptibility to 15 selected antibiotics. Overall, penicillin resistance among pneumococci was 10.5%, while lack of susceptibility to macrolides, co-trimoxazole, tetracycline and chloramphenicol reached 35.2%, 26.2%, 22.6% and 6.0%, respectively. Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and levofloxacin were the most potent compounds (100% and 99.9% susceptible strains, respectively). Among isolates of Haemophilus influenzae and Haemophilus parainfluenzae, beta-lactamase production (12.5% and 10%, respectively), and co-trimoxazole (19.9% and 40.0%) and clarithromycin (11.2% and 40.0%) resistance were the prevalent threats. This study confirms the trend observed in Italy since 1992: macrolide resistance among respiratory microorganisms is increasing, while several drugs including amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, third generation injectable cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones remain active on the great majority of these pathogens.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy. anna.marchese@unige.it
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marchese
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ardito
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fadda
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fontana
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lo Cascio
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nicoletti
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Speciale
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Schito
mesh_terms: D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D006192:Haemophilus Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance