The emerging antibiotic resistance and worldwide diffusion of Streptococcus pneumoniae strains is an important public health problem.
Objectives: The aims of this study were to study the evolution of S. pneumoniae resistance rates to penicillin G and other antimicrobials from nasopharyngeal carriage.
Method: Four hundred and eighty-two nasopharyngeal samples of S. pneumoniae were studied from 1997 to 2001. The Kirby-Bauer technique was used to screen the susceptibility of samples and completed with the determination of penicillin G minimal inhibitory concentration using the E-test.
Results: Resistance to penicillin increased from 1997 to 2001: 8.5% in 1997, 20.7% in 1998, 16% in 1999, and 23.5% in 2001. However, the resistance to other beta-lactam antibiotics was low. The rate of resistance to cotrimoxazole increased from 52.2% in 1997 to 84.3% in 2001, with a higher degree of resistance in 2001. The resistance of S. pneumoniae to tetracycline increased. In contrast, the prevalence of erythromycin-resistant pneumococcal samples decreased from 11.6% in 1997 to 8% in 2001. The resistance to three or more antibiotics (multi-drug resistant) was also increased from 9.4% in 1997 to 23.5% in 2001.
Conclusion: This data shows that carriage of antibiotic-resistant pneumococci is increasing in Abidjan. It will be interesting to assess the current bacterial resistance patterns by a national epidemiological observatory.