On the Persistence of R Factors in the Gram-Negative Aerobic Flora of the Human Intestine

Abstract

Two groups of patients with predominant R⁺ enteric bacteria, one after treatment with antibiotics, and the other after infection or colonization with R⁺ pathogenic or non-pathogenic bacteria, were investigated half a year later. The influence of antibiotic therapy on the intestinal flora had almost disappeared at that time. In patients colonized with R⁺ bacteria from the environment or in which R⁺ strains had emerged during infection with R⁺ enteropathogenic bacteria the frequency of resistant bacteria including E. coli, and the incidence of R⁺ strains was significantly higher than in healthy subjects earlier studied.