Antimicrobial resistance within Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from eastern and southern Mediterranean countries

Abstract

Objective: Streptococcus pneumoniae is a common cause of invasive disease, such as meningitis, sepsis and pneumonia. Treatment of these serious conditions is compromised by antimicrobial resistance which has been identified to be particularly prevalent some Northern Mediterranean countries, including France and Spain. Information about the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in the countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean has, however, been sparse. The Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance and Control in the Mediterranean Region (ARMed) project [www.slh.gov.mt/armed] provided a first time opportunity for a longitudinal multi-year study of trends of antimicrobial resistance amongst this species within countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean.