Two decades of otitis media in northern Israel: Changing trends in the offending bacteria and antibiotic susceptibility

Abstract Objective Bacteriology and antibiotic resistance trends changed considerably following introduction of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) 7 and 13, with differences between geographic regions. The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in acute otitis media (AOM) bacteriology and antibiotic susceptibility from the pre-vaccination period (2002–2008) to after the introduction of PCV13 (2010–2019) in northern Israel. Methods Data were collected from 3277 middle ear fluid (MEF) cultures and 4822 common AOM-generating pathogens of children aged Results The mean age of the children in the pre-vaccination and the vaccination periods was 18.7 ± 13.7 and 15.7 ± 12.5 months, respectively (p  Conclusion The most common MEF bacteria in northern Israel today is H. influenzae. Comparing the pre-vaccination to the vaccination period, the incidence of S. pneumonia-positive cultures decreased while GAS and H. influenza cultures increased. The age of children with positive cultures increased, and the antibiotic sensitivity rate increased. Key This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.