Susceptibility to fusidic acid among Danish Staphylococcus aureus strains and fusidic acid consumption.

A total of 8176 Danish Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from cases of bacteraemia during the years 1963 to 1987 were investigated for resistance to fusidic acid. During the whole period 1% of the strains or less were resistant (MIC of 2 mg/l or more). The total Danish consumption of fusidic acid during the same period increased from 0.008 to 0.029 defined daily doses/1000 inhabitants/day. The resistant strains were mainly sporadic isolates with the phage-types and antibiotic-resistance patterns predominant in Denmark at the time of their isolation.