From November 1997 to April 1998, 1,601 clinical isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae were obtained from 34 U.S. medical centers. The overall rate of strains showing resistance to penicillin was 29. 5%, with 17.4% having intermediate resistance. Multidrug resistance, defined as lack of susceptibility to penicillin and at least two other non-ss-lactam classes of antimicrobial drugs, was observed...

The susceptibility of 108 Streptococcus pneumoniae strains isolated from normally sterile body sites during 1993-1995 in Slovenia has been studied. Overall resistance to penicillin, erythromycin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, cefuroxime, cefaclor and chloramphenicol was 16.6, 0.9, 26.8, 0, 4.5 and 4.6%, respectively. All penicillin-resistant isolates (intermediate resistance) were susceptible ...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Beta haemolytic streptococci (BHS), especially group A are still highly susceptible to penicillin. One possible explanation for this could be reduced growth capability in penicillin resistant BHS mutants. The present study was therefore undertaken to analyze the growth rates of BHS with decreased susceptibility to penicillin. METHODS Serial passages in the medium with ...

Antibiotic resistant strains of enterococci are being isolated with increasing frequency. Effective treatment of infections caused by Enterococcus faecium resistant to ampicillin, vancomycin and aminoglycosides has not been established. We studied the activity of ramoplanin, a new lipoglycopeptide antibiotic, against two strains of multidrug resistant E. faecium. In time kill studies, ramoplani...

To compare intravenous (iv) ceftriaxone and penicillin G as therapy for neurosyphilis, blood and CSF were collected before and 14-26 weeks after therapy from 30 subjects infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 who had (1) rapid plasma reagin (RPR) test titers >/=1&rcolon;16, (2) reactive serum treponemal tests, and (3) either reactive CSF-Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) t...

The mechanism of action of penicillin at the cellular level has been considerably clarified recently. It seems clear that penicillin damages the surface of the bacteria, as first suggested by Cooper (l), and this damage leads to leakage of the cell contents, alteration of the internal environment, and death of the bacteria. On the biochemical level, the evidence is still indirect. Lederberg (a)...

AIM Respiratory tract infections are considered the major problem of equine worldwide. Strangles is an infectious and highly contagious respiratory bacterial disease of equine caused by Streptococcus equi. This study is aimed to evaluate some clinical and epidemiological investigation associated with strangles and to study the hematological and biochemical changes in 20 Arabian horse naturally ...

Expression of the bla1 and bla2 genes in an archetypal Bacillus anthracis strain is insufficient for penicillin resistance. In a penicillin-resistant clinical isolate, both genes are highly transcribed, but bla1 is the major contributor to high-level resistance to ampicillin. Differential expression of the bla genes is dependent upon strain background.

The draft genome sequences of two multiple-antibiotic-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from Hungary, Hu15 and Hu17, are reported here. Strain Hu15 is penicillin susceptible, whereas Hu17 is a high-level-penicillin-resistant strain. Both isolates belong to the serotype 19A sequence type 226, a single-locus variant (in the ddl locus) of the Hungary19A-6 clone.