Surveillance of Sensitivity to Penicillin in streptococcus Agalactiae recovered from pregnant women between 35-37 weeks of gestation

Abstract

Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) cause severe infections in newborns under three months. Meningitis, pneumonia and sepsis are the main infectious diseases in these children. These infections are among the most serious that an individual can suffer in his first twelve hours of life. The child acquires the infection by vertical transmission of the colonized mother. To prevent neonatal disease, penicillin is recommended as the drug of choice for intrapartum prophylaxis (PIP) in pregnant women colonized. However, strains with decreased susceptibility to penicillin have been detected so it is important to monitor the susceptibility to penicillin to ensure its usefulness during prophylaxis. The aim of this study was to determine the sensitivity to penicillin in GBS strains recovered from pregnant women with 35-37 weeks of gestation. Ninety-six isolates were studied and sensitivity was determined by the epsilometric method Etest® (LIOFILCHEM, Italy), following the recommendations of the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) was obtained for each bacterial isolation. 100% (96) of the strains studied were sensitive to penicillin with MIC values between 0.012 and 0.094 ?g mL-1. These results indicate that penicillin remains the antimicrobial of choice during intrapartum prophylaxis, for the prevention of neonatal disease caused by GBS in our region. The importance of epidemiological surveillance of sensitivity to penicillin and other antimicrobials is highlighted in order to alert new resistance mechanisms and to adapt treatment strategies.