EVIDENCE FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF A MULTIRESISTANT CLONE OF SEROTYPE-6B STREPTOCOCCUS-PNEUMONIAE FROM SPAIN TO ICELAND IN THE LATE 1980S

Almost all of the multiresistant pneumococci that appeared suddenly in clinical specimens in Iceland between 1989 and 1992 belonged to serog roup 6. Fifty-seven of these isolates were analyzed for serotype, peni cillin-binding protein pattern, multilocus enzyme genotype, and fragme ntation pattern obtained by pulsed-field electrophoretic separation of restriction enzyme digests of chromosomal DNA. All isolates were of s erotype 6B and had similar or identical patterns in each molecular tes t. The Icelandic isolates were indistinguishable from a subgroup of mu ltiresistant serotype 6B pneumococci that has been present with high i ncidence in Spain during the past two decades. The data suggest the im port to Iceland of a single multiresistant clone of pneumococcus, most likely from Spain.