Increase in high resistance to penicillin of clinical isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Cádiz, Spain.

The aim was to determine the increase and present standing of penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae in Cádiz, Spain. We have studied retrospectively a total of 385 strains of S. pneumoniae obtained during the years 1991, 1993 and 1995. Strains tested were isolated from clinical samples of patients attended at the University Hospital Puerta del Mar of Cádiz, Spain. The resistance rate to penicillin was 71.2% (47.0% in 1991, 72.8% in 1993 and 89.3% in 1995). The percentage of strains with high resistance was 51.4%. The increase was from 29.4% in 1991 to 75.2% in 1995. The incidence of penicillin-resistant pneumococci was more marked in nasopharyngeal carrier children (75.8%) than in invasive strains (30.2%). The increase in high resistance to penicillin in clinical isolates of S. pneumoniae is very pronounced in Cádiz, Spain.