G. Cornaglia et al., RAPID INCREASE OF RESISTANCE TO ERYTHROMYCIN AND CLINDAMYCIN IN STREPTOCOCCUS-PYOGENES IN ITALY, 1993-1995, EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES, 2(4), 1996, pp. 339-342
A survey of antibiotic resistance in Streptococcus pyogenes in Italy s
howed a sharp increase in erythromycin resistance. In 1993, the incide
nce of erythromycin-resistant strains was on average 5.1%, with marked
variations by geographic area. Two years later, the incidence of thes
e strains had registered a 1.5- to roughly 20-fold increase, with a me
an value of 25.9%, exceeding 40% in three centers out of 13 and 30% in
another four. For all the strains studied, normal levels of susceptib
ility to penicillin were reported.