High prevalence of resistance to clindamycin in Bacteroides fragilis group isolates

Abstract

Susceptibility to anti-anaerobic agents in the Bacteroides fragilis group varies according to the geographical region studied. In recent years there has been a reduction in the susceptibility of such isolates, particularly to antibiotics such as clindamycin and cefoxitin. The antimicrobial susceptibilities of 100 isolates of the B. fragilis group isolated in 1998 from faecal samples of healthy people to clindamycin and five other anti-anaerobic agents were determined. Meropenem, metronidazole and trovafloxacin showed excellent activity against all isolates. The efficacy of cefoxitin was low, with only 46% of isolates susceptible. A high prevalence of resistance to clindamycin (49% of isolates) was observed.