Streptococcus pneumoniae from ophthalmic infections: serotype distribution and penicillin susceptibility.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the pathogens causing infection of the conjunctiva and the uveal tract. The present study began with the observation of two ophthalmic S. pneumoniae isolates showing intermediate resistance to penicillin. Among the 25 isolates of S. pneumoniae from 617 ophthalmic specimens, during the period of 14 months, four were found to exhibit an intermediate resistance to penicillin. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration values ranging from 0.125 microg/mL to 0.25 microg/mL was observed. No multidrug resistant strains were isolated. Serogrouping/typing of the S. pneumoniae revealed the following serogroups/types; 6A (n = 3), 6B (n = 2), 22 (n = 3), 14 (n = 3), 23A (n = 2), and 1 each of 23B, 19A, 7B, 32, 9, 42, 21, 39, 10, 3, and 34. One strain showed cross reaction in pool 29, 35, and 47. These findings represent the first such observation of ophthalmic isolates from India.