Susceptibility to Telithromycin in 1,011 Streptococcus pyogenes Isolates from 10 Central and Eastern European Countries

Among 1,011 recently isolated Streptococcus pyogenes isolates from 10 Central and Eastern European centers, the MICs at which 50% of isolates are inhibited (MIC50s) and the MIC90s were as follows: for telithromycin, 0.03 and 0.06 μg/ml, respectively; for erythromycin, azithromycin, and clarithromycin, 0.06 to 0.125 and 1 to 8 μg/ml, respectively; and for clindamycin, 0.125 and 0.125 μg/ml, respectively. Erythromycin resistance occurred in 12.3% of strains. Erm(A) [subclass erm(TR)] was most commonly encountered (60.5%), followed by mef(A) (23.4%) and erm(B) (14.5%). At <0.5 μg/ml, telithromycin was active against 98.5% of the strains tested.