Prevalence of mef(A) and erm(B) in macrolide-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates in children with pneumonia in Nghe An (2019-2021)

Abstract

The present study aimed to determine the incidence of erm(B) and mef(A) among macrolide-resistant S. pneumoniae isolated in children with pneumonia in Nghe An province (2019-2021). A total of 126 clinical pnemococcal strains isolated from unvaccinated children less than 5 years of age with pneumonia at the Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, Vietnam during the period from Nov 2019 and Dec 2021. All strains were identified using conventional microbiological method, VITEK® 2 Compact system and specific PCR. The antimicrobial resistance patterns of pnemococcal strains were determined using the VITEK® 2 Compact system. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay were used to detect the macrolide resistance genes erm(B) and mef(A). Of the 126 isolates, 92.1% (116 of 126) were PCR positive for erm(B) and 57.9% (73 of 126) were PCR positive for mef(A). 120 (95.2%) had the mef(A) and/or the erm(B) gene and 54.8% of strains were both erm(B) and mef(A) positive. The findings of the current study showed high prevalence of the mef(A) and erm(B) genes among macrolide-resistant S. pneumoniae isolates in children with pneumonia in Nghe An province.