SHEDDING OF ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANT MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY ENTEROBACTERIACEAE IN HEALTHY RESIDENTS OF FRANCE AND JORDAN

We compared the frequency of shedding of members of the family Enterob acteria ceae resistant to ampicillin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, k anamycin, gentamicin and ceftazidime in 83 French residents of the Par is urban area and in 101 subjects in Jordan, 64 of whom resided in the urban area of Irbid, 15 in rural areas, and 22 of whom had a nomadic lifestyle. There was no significant difference between these populatio ns regarding (i) the percentages of subjects with strains resistant to any of the antimicrobial agents tested and (ii) the proportions of to tal counts of organisms of the Enterobac teriaceae resistant to these agents. The simultaneous shedding of strains resistant to ampicillin, chloramphenicol tetracycline and kanamycin was significantly associate d with (i) exposure to antibiotic treatment during the six months prec eding the study and (ii) the presence of many children at home.