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Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (2002) 50, 125-128
© 2002 The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

Penicillin tolerance amongst non-toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae isolated from cases of pharyngitis

C. von Hunolstein1,*, F. Scopetti1, A. Efstratiou2 and K. Engler2

1 Laboratorio di Batteriologia e Micologia Medica, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy; 2 Respiratory and Systemic Infection Laboratory, PHLS Central Public Health Laboratory, London, UK

Received 20 December 2001; returned 13 March 2002; revised 22 April 2002; accepted 2 May 2002

Twenty-four strains of non-toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae biotype gravis from the throats of patients with pharyngitis/tonsillitis were assayed for susceptibility to penicillin and erythromycin using determination of MIC, MBC and time–kill curves. There were no differences between the MICs of penicillin for susceptible and tolerant strains. All but one strain had penicillin MBCs >= 2 mg/L. Seventy-one per cent (17/24) of the strains were tolerant to penicillin. In contrast, all strains were susceptible to erythromycin (MIC <= 0.016 mg/L). These aspects should be considered when choosing the therapy for treating non-toxigenic C. diphtheriae pharyngitis/tonsillitis.

* Corresponding author. Tel: +39-06-4990-2036; Fax: +39-06-4938-7112; E-mail: cris.v.h{at}iss.it


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