PENICILLIN-RESISTANT PNEUMOCOCCAL MENINGITIS IN ISRAEL

Penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRP) is of worldwide co ncern. Treatment failures and fatalities of meningitis caused by PRP h ave been reported in other locations but not yet in Israel. We describ e an Ii-month-old infant with meningitis caused by PRP who failed to r espond to initial treatment with cefotaxime. Vancomycin treatment caus ed a prompt cure. The minimal inhibitory concentrations of the isolate to penicillin, cefuroxime and cefotaxime were 1.0, 4.0 and 1.0 mu g/m l, respectively. New guidelines for the treatment of meningitis in Isr ael are suggested.