Antimicrobial Resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae: An Epidemiological Survey in France, 1970–1990

The antimicrobial resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae was surveyed in 1970–1990 at Saint Joseph and Broussais hospitals in Paris (3,279 isolates) and in 1984–1990 at the National Reference Center for Pneumococci (NRCP) in Creteil (8,128 isolates). All isolates were tested for susceptibility and serotyped. At St. Joseph and Broussais hospitals, the rate of resistance to tetracycline increased from 14% in 1970 to 46.5% in 1978 and then decreased to ∼20% in 1988–1990. Resistance to chloramphenicol appeared in 1972; its frequency remained at 1 mg/L) among penicillin-resistant pneumococci increased from 13% in 1988 to 48% in 1990. Compared with other serotypes, the penicillin-resistant serotype isolated most frequently (23F, 49.3%) was more often highly resistant to penicillin and was more often multiresistant.