JAC Advance Access originally published online on January 28, 2005
Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 2005 55(3):375-378; doi:10.1093/jac/dki001
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JAC vol.55 no.3 © The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 2005; all rights reserved
Characterization of major clones of antibiotic-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae in New Zealand by multilocus sequence typing

Plant and Microbial Science Department, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
* Corresponding author. Present address: Centre for Infectious Disease, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary College, University of London, London E1 2AD, UK. Tel: +44-20-7377-7000 (ext. 3228); Fax: +44-20-7377-7259; Email: d.c.bean{at}qmul.ac.uk
Objectives: To determine the relationship between New Zealand isolates of antibiotic-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae and internationally widespread resistant clones.
Methods: Fifty-nine isolates representing both invasive and non-invasive pneumococci from multiple locations, serotypes and years were analysed by multilocus sequence typing.
Results: Major international clones, including Spain23F-1, France9V-3 and Taiwan19F-14, were found to be present in New Zealand. A one-allele variant of the Taiwan19F-14 clone (aroE 15
4, ST 271) was particularly prominent.
Conclusions: Antibiotic-resistant pneumococci have not evolved de novo in New Zealand, but were introduced to the country during the early 1990s.
Keywords: S. pneumoniae , PMEN , MLST