Korean J Clin Microbiol.  2008 Apr;11(1):69-70. 10.5145/KJCM.2008.11.1.69.

Survey of Antimicrobial Resistance of Pharyngeal alpha-Hemolytic Streptococci among School Children

• Koh EH
• Kim S

• KMID: 2089812
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5145/KJCM.2008.11.1.69

Abstract

alpha-hemolytic streptococci (AHS) are common normal oropharyngeal flora that can transfer antibiotic-resistance genes to Streptococcus pneumoniae. Reports on antibiotic resistance in AHS from throats are rare in Korea. A total of 333 healthy school children were subjected to recovery of AHS from the throat, and antibiotic susceptibility tests were screened with the disk diffusion method. The rate of resistance to erythromycin was 22.2%, to clindamycin 12.0%, and to cefotaxime 3.0%. Whereas the resistance rate of S. pneumoniae to erythromycin exceeds 70% in Korea, pharyngeal AHS showed low resistance rates.

Keyword

Viridans group streptococci; alpha-hemolytic streptococci; Antibiotic resistance

MeSH Terms

Cefotaxime
Child
Clindamycin
Diffusion
Drug Resistance, Microbial
Erythromycin
Humans
Korea
Pharynx
Pneumonia
Streptococcus pneumoniae
Cefotaxime
Clindamycin
Erythromycin

Reference

References

1. Bryskier A. Vridians group streptococci: a reservoir of resistant bacteria in oral cavities. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2002; 8:65–9.

2. Cerdá Zolezzi P, Laplana LM, Calvo CR, Cepero PG, Erazo MC, Gómez-Lus R. Molecular basis of resistance to macrolides and other antibiotics in commensal viridans group streptococci and Gemella spp. and transfer of resistance genes to Streptococcus pneumoniae. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2004; 48:3462–7.

3. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. Performance standards for antimicrobial susceptibility testing; seventeenth informational supplement. CLSI Document M100-S17. Wayne, PA; CLSI. 2007.

4. Ioannidou S, Tassios PT, Kotsovili-Tseleni A, Foustoukou M, Legakis NJ, Vatopoulos A. Antibiotic resistance rates and macrolide resistance phenotypes of viridans group streptococci from the oropharynx of healthy Greek children. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2001; 17:195–201.

5. Aracil B, Miñambres M, Oteo J, Torres C, Gómez-Garcés JL, Alós JI. High prevalence of erythromycin-resistant and clindamycin-susceptible (M phenotype) viridans group streptococci from pharyngeal samples: a reservoir of mef genes in commensal bacteria. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2001; 48:592–4.

6. Seppälä H, Haanperä M, Al-Juhaish M, Järvinen H, Jalava J, Huovinen P. Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and macrolide resistance genes of viridans group streptococci from normal flora. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2003; 52:636–44.

7. Koh EH, Maeng KY, Kim S, Jeong HJ, Lee NY. A decrease in erythromycin resistance rate of Streptococcus pyogenes in 2004 in Jinju. Korean J Clin Microbiol. 2006; 9:51–7.

8. Doren GV, Ferraro MJ, Brueggemann AB, Ruoff KL. Emergence of high rates of antimicrobial resistance among viridans group streptococci in the United States. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1996; 40:891–4.

9. Uh Y, Shin DH, Jang IH, Hwang GY, Lee MK, Yoon KJ, et al. Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and macrolide resistance genes of viridans group streptococci from blood culture in Korea. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2004; 53:1095–7.

10. Lee NY, Song JH, Kim S, Peck KR, Ahn KM, Lee SI, et al. Carriage of antibiotic-resistant pneumococci among Asian children: a multinational surveillance by the Asian Network for Surveillance of Resistant Pathogens (ANSORP). Clin Infect Dis. 2001; 32:1463–9.

11. Waites KB, Jones KE, Kim KH, Moser SA, Johnson CN, Hollingshead SK, et al. Dissemination of macrolide-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates containing both erm(B) and mef(A) in South Korea. J Clin Microbiol. 2003; 41:5787–91.