[Should resistance to methicillin of RH mutant staphylococci be necessarily attributed to cephalosporins?].

The resistance to cephalosporins of 48 heterogeneous methicillin-resistant strains ("RH" mutants) of Staphylococcus pyogenes var. aureus is studied in vitro with various methods: sensitivity discs test on Mueller-Hinton medium with 5 per cent NaCl at 37 degrees C; M.I.C. in solid medium by spots medium with two inocula: a light inoculum (10(7) bacterial/ml) and a heavy inoculum (10(9) bacteria/ml). With light inoculum all strains have M.I.C. to cephaloridin less than 2 meg/ml and seem sensitive. With heavy inoculum 45 sc. equal or superior to 64 meg/ml and then are resistant. These resistances occur after 3 degrees C. The varied methods of detection of mutants to cephalosporins are discussed in this paper.