Two-year surveillance of antibiotic resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae in four African cities.

M. Benbachir (1) , S. Benredjeb (2) , C. S. Boye (3) , M. Dosso (4) , H. Belabbes (1) , A. Kamoun (2) , O. Kaire (3) , N. Elmdaghri (1)

1 University Hospital Ibn Rochd
2 Hôpital Charles Nicolle [Tunis]
3 Le Dantec Hospital
4 Institut Pasteur de Côte d'Ivoire

Worldwide spread of antibiotic resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major problem. However, data from West and North African countries are scarce. To study the level of resistance and compare the situations in different cities, a prospective study was conducted in Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Casablanca (Morocco), Dakar (Senegal), and Tunis (Tunisia), from 1996 to 1997. The resistances to eight antibiotics of 375 isolates were studied by E test, and the results were interpreted using the breakpoints recommended by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. Overall, 30.4% of the isolates were nonsusceptible to penicillin G (25.6% were intermediate and 4.8% were resistant). Amoxicillin (96.3% were susceptible) and parenteral third-generation cephalosporins (92.7%) were highly active. Resistance to chloramphenicol was detected in 8.6% of the isolates. High levels of resistance were noted for erythromycin (28%), tetracycline (38.3%), and cotrimoxazole (36.4%). Resistance to rifampin was rare (2.1%). There were significant differences in resistance rates between individual countries. Multiple resistance was more frequent in penicillin-nonsusceptible isolates than in penicillin-susceptible isolates. Recommendations for treatment could be generated from these results in each participating country.

Domains: Bacteriology

M. Benbachir, S. Benredjeb, C. S. Boye, M. Dosso, H. Belabbes, et al.. Two-year surveillance of antibiotic resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae in four African cities.. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 2001, 45 (2), pp.627-9. ⟨10.1128/AAC.45.2.627-629.2001⟩. ⟨pasteur-00758505⟩