Antibiotic resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae , isolated from nasopharynx of preschool children with acute respiratory tract infection in Lithuania

Background Increasing pneumococcal resistance to commonly used antibiotics and multidrug resistance is a serious public health concern. Data on distribution of resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (SPn) strains among children in Lithuania are limited. We evaluated the circulation of SPn serotypes and antimicrobial susceptibility among preschool children in Lithuania before the introduction of universal infant pneumococcal vaccination.