Change of antimicrobial susceptibility of group B streptococci over 15 years in Japan

We compared antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of 206 group B streptococ cal (GBS) strains isolated from pregnant women and six from neonates/infant s with invasive infection during the two periods 1985-1986 and 1999-2000. A ll strains in both periods were susceptible to the penicillins, cephalospor ins and carbapenem tested. Seven (3%) isolates were resistant to erythromyc in and three (1%) were resistant to clindamycin. There were no significant differences between the two study periods in the incidence of GBS resistant to the 14 antibiotics tested. These results showed that penicillins are st ill the first choice to prevent vertical transmission of GBS in Japan.