Activity of the semi-synthetic kanamycin B derivative, arbekacin against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract

Arbekacin (l-N-{(S)-4-amino-2-hydroxybutyryl}-3′,4′-dideoxykanamycin B) was active against 54 strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from 16 different countries, all of which were resistant to ≥32 mg/L amikacin. MICs of arbekacin ranged from 1 to 16 mg/L, the MIC₅₀ was 3·2 mg/L and the mode geometric mean MICs were 4 and 4·5 mg/L respectively.