Audio Journal of Infectious Disease: Reporting from the 2006 Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), September 27 – 30, San Francisco

Henry Fraimow

Michael Jacobs

Ron Dagan

MRSA: Not Only Carried in the Nose

REFERENCE: Abstract C2-605Henry Fraimow, Cooper University Hospital, Camden, New JerseyMethicillin resistantStaphylococcus aureusis most often looked for in the nose, but could it be hiding elsewhere? According toHenry Fraimow, of Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey, vaginal and rectal cavities may also be an important reservoirs for this bacterium. Derek Thorne asked him about his findings.

Pneumococcal Vaccine Selects for Multidrug Resistant S. Pneumoniae Serotype

REFERENCE: Abstract G-346Michael Jacobs, Case Western Reserve University, ClevelandThe conjugated pneumococcal vaccine did initially reduce the incidence of invasiveStreptococcus pneumoniaeinfection in children; however, six years after its introduction, a particular multidrug resistant serotype has replaced the types that were covered by the vaccine.Michael Jacobsof the Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, revealed his findings to the ICAAC conference and talked about them in San Francisco with Derek Thorne.

Decrease in Antibiotic Use Leads to Decrease in Resistant S. pneumoniae

REFERENCE: Abstract G-345Ron Dagan, Soroka University Medical Center, Beer-Sheva, IsraelIf antibiotic use drops markedly, will resistant strains become less common? Have they paid a ‘fitness cost’ in becoming resistant? A group led byRon Dagan, of the Soroka University Medical Center in Beer-Sheva, Israel, tested this hypothesis by trackingStreptococcus pneumoniaestrains throughout the year, to see whether a decrease in antibiotics – which is seen in the summer months – led to a decrease in resistant strains. During the ICAAC meeting he told Derek Thorne about their findings.