Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns of Streptococcus agalactiae in a German University Hospital

Abstract

Group B streptococci (GBS) are the major cause of neonatal sepsis and meningitis. GBS infection in neonates is usually treated with a combination of penicillin and gentamicin. According to consensus guidelines, pregnant women at risk receive intrapartum prophylaxis with either ampicillin or penicillin or, in case of allergy, with erythromycin or clindamycin. We investigated the susceptibility patterns of 190 GBS strains from neonates isolated from 1993-1999 and 150 GBS strains collected from adult women in 1997 and 1999. All isolates were susceptible to penicillin, ampicillin and cefotaxime. Erythromycin resistance among all isolates from neonates and from adult women in 1997 was 4.7% and 6%, respectively. In contrast, 12% of the isolates from adult women in 1999 were resistant to erythromycin and 7% were resistant to clindamycin. These findings show an increasing macrolide resistance in recent GBS strains and indicate the need for further surveillance.