Marchese A, Debbia E A, Arvigo A, Pesce A, Schito G C
Institute of Microbiology, Medical School, University of Genoa, Italy.
J Antimicrob Chemother. 1995 Nov;36(5):833-7. doi: 10.1093/jac/36.5.833.
The susceptibility of 312 Streptococcus pneumoniae strains isolated during 1993 in Italy has been studied. Overall resistance to penicillin, erythromycin and co-trimoxazole was 5.5, 6 and 18% respectively. The penicillin resistant isolates (nine displaying low- and eight high-level resistance) were further tested against cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, cefepime, cefodizime, ceftazidime, imipenem, meropenem and rifampicin. The low-level penicillin resistant strains were inhibited by all these drugs. Among the eight high-level penicillin resistant pneumococci, four were resistant to one or more cephalosporins. Imipenem and rifampicin remained effective against all isolates. In comparison with other European Mediterranean countries, penicillin resistance is a minor threat at present in Italy.
