Skip to main content
Emerging Infectious Diseases logoLink to Emerging Infectious Diseases
. 1996 Oct-Dec;2(4):339–342. doi: 10.3201/eid0204.960410

Rapid increase of resistance to erythromycin and clindamycin in Streptococcus pyogenes in Italy, 1993-1995. The Italian Surveillance Group for Antimicrobial Resistance.

G Cornaglia 1, M Ligozzi 1, A Mazzariol 1, M Valentini 1, G Orefici 1, R Fontana 1
PMCID: PMC2639920  PMID: 9011381

Abstract

A survey of antibiotic resistance in Streptococcus pyogenes in Italy showed a sharp increase in erythromycin resistance. In 1993, the incidence of erythromycin-resistant strains was on average 5.1%, with marked variations by geographic area. Two years later, the incidence of these strains had registered a 1.5- to roughly 20-fold increase, with a mean value of 25.9%, exceeding 40% in three centers out of 13 and 30% in another four. For all the strains studied, normal levels of susceptibility to penicillin were reported.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (39.1 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Arthur M., Brisson-Noël A., Courvalin P. Origin and evolution of genes specifying resistance to macrolide, lincosamide and streptogramin antibiotics: data and hypotheses. J Antimicrob Chemother. 1987 Dec;20(6):783–802. doi: 10.1093/jac/20.6.783. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Arthur M., Molinas C., Mabilat C., Courvalin P. Detection of erythromycin resistance by the polymerase chain reaction using primers in conserved regions of erm rRNA methylase genes. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1990 Oct;34(10):2024–2026. doi: 10.1128/aac.34.10.2024. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Cellesi C., Chigiotti S., Zanchi A., Mencarelli M., Corbisiero R., Rossolini G. M. Susceptibility of macrolide and beta-lactam antibiotics of Streptococcus pyogenes strains isolated over a four-year period in central Italy. J Chemother. 1996 Jun;8(3):188–192. doi: 10.1179/joc.1996.8.3.188. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Duval J. Evolution and epidemiology of MLS resistance. J Antimicrob Chemother. 1985 Jul;16 (Suppl A):137–149. doi: 10.1093/jac/16.suppl_a.137. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Hsueh P. R., Chen H. M., Huang A. H., Wu J. J. Decreased activity of erythromycin against Streptococcus pyogenes in Taiwan. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1995 Oct;39(10):2239–2242. doi: 10.1128/aac.39.10.2239. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Kaplan E. L. The resurgence of group A streptococcal infections and their sequelae. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 1991 Feb;10(2):55–57. doi: 10.1007/BF01964407. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Leclercq R., Courvalin P. Bacterial resistance to macrolide, lincosamide, and streptogramin antibiotics by target modification. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1991 Jul;35(7):1267–1272. doi: 10.1128/aac.35.7.1267. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Macrina F. L., Jones K. R., Wood P. H. Chimeric streptococcal plasmids and their use as molecular cloning vehicles in Streptococcus sanguis (Challis). J Bacteriol. 1980 Sep;143(3):1425–1435. doi: 10.1128/jb.143.3.1425-1435.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Martin P. R., Høiby E. A. Streptococcal serogroup A epidemic in Norway 1987-1988. Scand J Infect Dis. 1990;22(4):421–429. doi: 10.3109/00365549009027073. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Maruyama S., Yoshioka H., Fujita K., Takimoto M., Satake Y. Sensitivity of group A streptococci to antibiotics. Prevalence of resistance to erythromycin in Japan. Am J Dis Child. 1979 Nov;133(11):1143–1145. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.1979.02130110051007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Musher D. M., Hamill R. J., Wright C. E., Clarridge J. E., Ashton C. M. Trends in bacteremic infection due to Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococcus), 1986-1995. Emerg Infect Dis. 1996 Jan-Mar;2(1):54–56. doi: 10.3201/eid0201.960107. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Phillips G., Parratt D., Orange G. V., Harper I., McEwan H., Young N. Erythromycin-resistant Streptococcus pyogenes. J Antimicrob Chemother. 1990 Apr;25(4):723–724. doi: 10.1093/jac/25.4.723. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Seppälä H., Nissinen A., Järvinen H., Huovinen S., Henriksson T., Herva E., Holm S. E., Jahkola M., Katila M. L., Klaukka T. Resistance to erythromycin in group A streptococci. N Engl J Med. 1992 Jan 30;326(5):292–297. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199201303260503. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Seppälä H., Nissinen A., Yu Q., Huovinen P. Three different phenotypes of erythromycin-resistant Streptococcus pyogenes in Finland. J Antimicrob Chemother. 1993 Dec;32(6):885–891. doi: 10.1093/jac/32.6.885. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Stevens D. L. Streptococcal toxic-shock syndrome: spectrum of disease, pathogenesis, and new concepts in treatment. Emerg Infect Dis. 1995 Jul-Sep;1(3):69–78. doi: 10.3201/eid0103.950301. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Stingemore N., Francis G. R., Toohey M., McGechie D. B. The emergence of erythromycin resistance in Streptococcus pyogenes in Fremantle, Western Australia. Med J Aust. 1989 Jun 5;150(11):626-7, 630-1. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1989.tb136725.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Strömberg A., Romanus V., Burman L. G. Outbreak of group A streptococcal bacteremia in Sweden: an epidemiologic and clinical study. J Infect Dis. 1991 Sep;164(3):595–598. doi: 10.1093/infdis/164.3.595. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Sutcliffe J., Tait-Kamradt A., Wondrack L. Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes resistant to macrolides but sensitive to clindamycin: a common resistance pattern mediated by an efflux system. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1996 Aug;40(8):1817–1824. doi: 10.1128/aac.40.8.1817. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Weisblum B. Erythromycin resistance by ribosome modification. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1995 Mar;39(3):577–585. doi: 10.1128/AAC.39.3.577. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Emerging Infectious Diseases are provided here courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

RESOURCES