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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, January 1999, p. 48-52, Vol. 43, No. 1
0066-4804/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Erythromycin Resistance Genes in Group A Streptococci in Finland

Janne Kataja,1,* Pentti Huovinen,1 Mikael Skurnik,3,4 the Finnish Study Group for Antimicrobial Resistance,dagger and Helena Seppälä1,2

Antimicrobial Research Laboratory, National Public Health Institute,1 Department of Ophthalmology2 and Turku Centre for Biotechnology,3 University of Turku, and Åbo Akademi University,4 Turku, Finland

Received 21 April 1998/Returned for modification 3 July 1998/Accepted 5 October 1998

Streptococcus pyogenes isolates (group A streptococcus) of different erythromycin resistance phenotypes were collected from all over Finland in 1994 and 1995 and studied; they were evaluated for their susceptibilities to 14 antimicrobial agents (396 isolates) and the presence of different erythromycin resistance genes (45 isolates). The erythromycin-resistant isolates with the macrolide-resistant but lincosamide- and streptogramin B-susceptible phenotype (M phenotype) were further studied for their plasmid contents and the transferability of resistance genes. Resistance to antimicrobial agents other than macrolides, clindamycin, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol was not found. When compared to our previous study performed in 1990, the rate of resistance to tetracycline increased from 10 to 93% among isolates with the inducible resistance (IR) phenotype of macrolide, lincosamide, and streptogramin B (MLSB) resistance. Tetracycline resistance was also found among 75% of the MLSB-resistant isolates with the constitutive resistance (CR) phenotype. Resistance to chloramphenicol was found for the first time in S. pyogenes in Finland; 3% of the isolates with the IR phenotype were resistant. All the chloramphenicol-resistant isolates were also resistant to tetracycline. Detection of erythromycin resistance genes by PCR indicated that, with the exception of one isolate with the CR phenotype, all M-phenotype isolates had the macrolide efflux (mefA) gene and all the MLSB-resistant isolates had the erythromycin resistance methylase (ermTR) gene; the isolate with the CR phenotype contained the ermB gene. No plasmid DNA could be isolated from the M-phenotype isolates, but the mefA gene was transferred by conjugation.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Antimicrobial Research Laboratory, National Public Health Institute, P.O. Box 57, 20521 Turku, Finland. Phone: 358-2-2519255. Fax: 358-2-2519254. E-mail: janne.kataja{at}utu.fi.

dagger Members are listed in Appendix.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, January 1999, p. 48-52, Vol. 43, No. 1
0066-4804/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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