In-vitro sensitivity of strains of mycoplasmas from human sources to antibiotics and to sodium aurothiomalate and tylosin tartrate.

Abstract

SUMMARY The results of in-vitro sensitivity tests of strains of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, M. hominis, M. fermentons, M. salivarium and M. orale type 1 to ampicillin, cephaloridine, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, kanamycin, lincomycin, methi- cillin, streptomycin, tetracycline, sodium aurothiomalate and tylosin tartrate are reported. They confirm that M. pneumoniae and M. hominis are sensitive to tetracycline and chloramphenicol, but show that a number of strains of M. salivarium and M. orale type 1 are resistant to these drugs. Some of these strains were also resistant to kanamycin, but most were sensitive to tylosin tartrate. All the mycoplasmas were resistant to ampicillin and methicillin, and to cephaloridine at concentrations of 25-100 μg per ml. Strains of M. pneumoniae were sensitive to erythromycin, but most of the other strains were resistant. The mycoplasmas were very variable in their sensitivity to sodium aurothiomalate. It is suggested that tylosin tartrate is the agent most likely to prove useful for eradicating mycoplasmas from contaminated tissue cultures.