Susceptibilidad de 1,100 cepas de Streptococcus pneumoniae aisladas en 1997 de siete países de América Latina y el Caribe

The antimicrobial susceptibility to b-lactam and non-b-lactam agents of 1,100 isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae recovered in 1997 from 16 centers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela and West Indies was studied using E-test and disk diffusion methods. A total of 23.6% of isolates had raised penicillin MICs (16.7%, intermediate and 6.9% resistant). The susceptibility of the other agents tested, from most active to least active, were amoxycillin/ clavulanate (99.5% susceptible); chloramphenicol (93.2%); cefotaxime (91.7%); erythromycin (87.1%); tetracycline (74.6%); trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ) (55.4%); and cefaclor (52.8%). The highest proportion of strains resistant to penicillin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, tetracyc1ine and TMP-SMZ was found in strains from Mexico while resistance to these agents was lowest in strains from the West Indies. Prevalence of penicillin resistance (including intermediate and resistant isolates) in each of the countries, from highest to lowest was, Mexico (40.8%); Chile (31.3%); Panama (23.0%); Venezuela (21.9%); Argentina (19.1%); Brazil (12.9%); and West Indies (7.1%). Based on current levels of antimicrobial resistance of S. pneumoniae in Latin American and Caribbean countries, continued surveillance efforts are necessary in order to guide clinical empiric treatment and provide for judicious use of antimicrobial agents. C 2000 Elsevier Science B. V. and International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.