rss
Br J Ophthalmol 2003;87:147-148 doi:10.1136/bjo.87.2.147
  • Scientific correspondence

Community treatment with azithromycin for trachoma is not associated with antibiotic resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae at 1 year

  1. B D Gaynor1,
  2. K A Holbrook2,
  3. J P Whitcher1,
  4. S O Holm3,
  5. H C Jha4,
  6. J S P Chaudhary4,
  7. R C Bhatta4,
  8. T Lietman1
  1. 1The Francis I Proctor Foundation and the Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
  2. 2Community Health Epidemiology and Disease Control, San Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco, CA, USA
  3. 3The Francis I Proctor Foundation
  4. 4Geta Eye Hospital, Geta, Nepal
  1. Correspondence to: Bruce D Gaynor, MD, The Francis I Proctor Foundation and the Department of Ophthalmology, UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco, CA 94143–0944, USA; bgaynor{at}itsa.ucsf.edu
  • Accepted 19 March 2002

Abstract

Aims: To determine if macrolide resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae will be a major concern in areas that receive annual mass azithromycin distributions for trachoma.

Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted of nasopharyngeal S pneumoniae isolates for susceptibility to azithromycin 1 year after administering a single dose of azithromycin to treat trachoma in a village in Nepal.

Results:S pneumoniae was isolated from 50 (86%) of 57 nasopharyngeal cultures and no resistance to azithromycin was detected.

Conclusion: The authors were unable to demonstrate that mass azithromycin therapy for trachoma produced macrolide resistant S pneumoniae that persists until the next scheduled annual treatment.

Footnotes

    This Article

    1. Abstract
    2. Full text
    3. PDF

    Responses

    1. Submit a response
    2. No responses published

    Register for free content

    The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.

    Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.