Penicillin G susceptibility of "rural" staphylococcus aureus.

A total of 9,955 isolates of Staphylococcus aureus (SA) from an urban hospital and clinic and from rural office settings obtained during 1971 through 1978 were compared for susceptibility to penicillin G. Clear downward trends in susceptibility of SA were noted for all urban settings during the 1970s. In 1978, penicillin G susceptibility of SA in an urban community practice (16.3 percent) was actually less than that in the urban hospitals in the same city (17.1 percent). Penicillin G susceptibility of SA from two rural sources was likewise very low (20.9 percent and 28.7 percent). Therefore, Staphylococcus aureus must be considered resistant to penicillin G until proven otherwise, irrespective of the source of the isolate.