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. 2001 Jan-Feb;7(1):43–48. doi: 10.3201/eid0701.010106

Transferable plasmid-mediated resistance to streptomycin in a clinical isolate of Yersinia pestis.

A Guiyoule 1, G Gerbaud 1, C Buchrieser 1, M Galimand 1, L Rahalison 1, S Chanteau 1, P Courvalin 1, E Carniel 1
PMCID: PMC2631670  PMID: 11266293

Abstract

Plasmid-mediated high-level resistance to multiple antibiotics was reported in a clinical isolate of Yersinia pestis in Madagascar in 1997. We describe a second Y. pestis strain with high-level resistance to streptomycin, isolated from a human case of bubonic plague in Madagascar. The resistance determinants were carried by a self-transferable plasmid that could conjugate at high frequencies to other Y. pestis isolates. The plasmid and the host bacterium were different from those previously associated with multiple-drug resistance, indicating that acquisition of resistance plasmids is occurring in this bacterial species. Emergence of resistance to streptomycin in Y. pestis represents a critical public health problem since this antibiotic is used as the first-line treatment against plague in many countries.

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Selected References

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