Macrolide, lincosamide and streptogramin resistance in Campylobacter jejuni/coli

Abstract

Strains of erythromycin-resistant Campylobacter jejuni/coli isolated in the United Kingdom, Canada and Europe, were also resistant to tylosin, spiramycin and clindamycin and, like sensitive strains, were insensitive to virginiamycin and pristinamycin component B. These were designated as macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin generalized resistant organisms and macrolide-lincosamide generalized resistant on the basis of patterns of resistance to pristinamycin components A and B. Two erythromycin-sensitive strains whose resistance to spiramycin and tylosin had been produced in the laboratory showed cross resistance to erythromycin, but were still sensitive to clindamycin. These were characterized as macrolide-streptogramin A inducible resistant organisms. The isolates tested were identified and all were found to be C. coli, except for two strains, one erythromycin-resistant and one erythromycin-sensitive, which hydrolyzed hippurate and were thus identified as C. jejuni.