Prevalence of penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae–Connecticut, 1992-1993

Streptococcus pneumoniae is an important cause of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia, meningitis, acute otitis media, and other infections. Infants, young children, and the elderly are most severely affected by pneumococcal disease. Although S. pneumoniae was once considered to be routinely susceptible to penicillin, since the mid-1980s the incidence of resistance of this organism to penicillin and other antimicrobial agents has been increasing in the United States. National surveillance for drug-resistant S. pneumoniae (DRSP) is limited to testing invasive isolates from sentinel hospitals in 13 states. To determine the extent of antimicrobial susceptibility testing of S. pneumoniae and the prevalence of penicillin resistance among pneumococcal isolates from July 1992 through June 1993, in August 1993 the Connecticut Department of Public Health and Addiction Services (DPHAS) surveyed all 44 hospitals with clinical microbiology laboratories in Connecticut. This report summarizes the results of that survey.