Fotopoulou N, Tassios P T, Beste D V, Ioannidou S, Efstratiou A, Lawrence E R, Papaparaskevas J, George R C, Legakis N J
Microbiology Department, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Mikras Asias 75, GR 115 27 Athens, Greece.
Clin Microbiol Infect. 2003 Sep;9(9):924-9. doi: 10.1046/j.1469-0691.2003.00689.x.
To investigate the possible genetic relationship among erythromycin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae strains isolated in Greece and the UK.
During 1995-97, 140 S. pneumoniae strains were isolated from clinical specimens submitted to the microbiology departments of the two main children's hospital in Athens. All erythromycin-resistant strains were further studied with respect to the presence of genes encoding for the two major mechanisms of macrolide resistance, their serotypes, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) types, in comparison to a previously characterized UK erythromycin-resistant clone.
Eleven of the 140 isolates (7.9%) were resistant to erythromycin; nine of these were susceptible to penicillin. Serotyping allocated seven, three and one isolates to serotypes 14, 19F and serogroup 6, respectively. The mefA gene was detected in seven isolates (five serotype 14 and two serotype 19F), ermB in two (one serotype 19F and the serogroup 6 isolate), whilst in the remaining two isolates no resistance gene could be detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of genomic DNA showed that five Greek serotype 14 isolates belonged to the same chromosomal type as the serotype 14 erythromycin-resistant UK clone.
The present study showed that erythromycin resistance among the S. pneumoniae isolates was mostly owing to the efflux mechanism and suggested a possible clonal spread of serotype 14 erythromycin-resistant S. pneumoniae strains between Greece and the UK.
研究在希腊和英国分离出的耐红霉素肺炎链球菌菌株之间可能存在的遗传关系。
1995 - 1997年期间，从提交至雅典两家主要儿童医院微生物科的临床标本中分离出140株肺炎链球菌菌株。与先前鉴定的英国耐红霉素克隆相比，对所有耐红霉素菌株进一步研究其编码大环内酯类耐药两种主要机制的基因的存在情况、血清型及脉冲场凝胶电泳（PFGE）类型。
140株分离菌株中有11株（7.9%）对红霉素耐药；其中9株对青霉素敏感。血清分型将7株、3株和1株分离菌株分别归为血清型14、19F和血清群6。在7株分离菌株（5株血清型14和2株血清型19F）中检测到mefA基因，2株（1株血清型19F和血清群6分离株）中检测到ermB基因，而在其余2株分离菌株中通过聚合酶链反应（PCR）未检测到耐药基因。基因组DNA的脉冲场凝胶电泳显示，5株希腊血清型14分离菌株与血清型14耐红霉素英国克隆属于同一染色体类型。
本研究表明，肺炎链球菌分离菌株中的红霉素耐药主要归因于外排机制，并提示血清型14耐红霉素肺炎链球菌菌株在希腊和英国之间可能存在克隆传播。
