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In contrast to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), studies on clonal distribution of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) are scarce. Since 2004, an increasing incidence of concomitant resistance to erythromycin, clindamycin and tobramycin (ECT) among MSSA has been detected in Ostergotland County, Sweden. The objectives of this study were to investigate the genetic relatedness among these isolates with 2 genotyping methods, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and sequence-based typing of the polymorphic region X of the staphylococcal protein A gene (spa typing), and to determine the incidence of the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) gene. When genotyping 54 ECT-resistant MSSA isolates from 49 patients (1 isolate per patient per y), 91% were shown to be part of a clonal outbreak with both methods used (spa type t002). The clonal outbreak was concentrated in 8 hospital departments and 2 primary care centres, all located in the city of Linkoping. All isolates were negative for the PVL gene. In conclusion, this study demonstrates an ongoing clonal outbreak of PVL-negative ECT-resistant MSSA. This stresses the need to continuously maintain basic hygiene rules, since nosocomial transmission of pathogens is not limited to known resistant bacteria such as MRSA.

Introduction: Antibiotics used for treatment of severe bacterial infections have been shown to exert effects on the inflammatory response in addition to their antibacterial effects. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the biological effects of endotoxin in a porcine model could be neutralized by tobramycin, and whether tobramycin or ceftazidime was able to modulate the inflammatory response., Method: Thirteen piglets were subjected to endotoxin infusion at an initial rate of 4 microgram/kg per hour, which was reduced to 1 microgram/kg per hour after 30 min. Before endotoxin infusion, the animals received saline (n = 4), ceftazidime (n = 5), or tobramycin (n = 4) at clinically relevant doses. Physiological parameters were measured and blood samples were taken hourly for 6 hours for analysis of tumour necrosis factor-alpha, IL-6 and endotoxin concentrations., Results: All of the animals exhibited physiological signs of severe sepsis without major differences between the groups. Plasma endotoxin concentration was stable after 1 hour. There were no differences in endotoxin concentration or initial tumour necrosis factor-alpha and IL-6 concentrations between the groups. At 6 hours the IL-6 concentration was significantly lower in the ceftazidime group than in the saline group (P < 0.05), and in both the ceftazidime and the tobramycin groups there were significantly greater reductions from peak values (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: There was no neutralization of the biological effects of endotoxin in this porcine model. However, our data indicate a possible anti-inflammatory effect exerted by both ceftazidime and tobramycin, which manifested as a significantly greater reduction in IL-6 in comparison with the untreated group.

The in vitro susceptibility to gentamicin, tobramycin, amikacin and netilmicin in septicaemia isolates was followed during 1980-1984 in 6-8 Swedish laboratories. The bacterial distribution was similar over the years and was dominated by Escherichia coli and staphylococci. Resistance to gentamicin was found in 2.3-3.6%, to tobramycin in 1.4-3.4%, to amikacin and netilmicin in 0.5-0.9%. Production of aminoglycoside modifying enzymes was observed among resistant strains.