Serogroup distribution and antimicrobial susceptibility of beta-hemolytic streptococci in clinical isolates.

Three hundred and four strains of beta-hemolytic streptococci were isolated from different patients at Siriraj Hospital during 1989-1990. Among these strains, 24.01% were group A, 23.03% were group B, 2.96% were group C, 29.61% were group D, 0.66% were group F, 6.25% were group G and 13.48% could not be grouped by using the Lancefield reference method. The distribution of each serogroup according to the types of clinical specimens was also studied. From pus, group A Streptococcus (44.8%) was the most frequent isolate. From vagina/cervix/urethra specimens, group B Streptococcus (47.95%) was the most frequent isolate. From urine, group D Streptococcus (82.5%) was the most frequent isolate. From blood, group B Streptococcus (43.33%) was the most frequent isolate. From throat/sputum specimens, only group A Streptococcus was isolated. There were some differences in susceptibility to 19 antimicrobial agents among various groups of streptococci. Resistance to penicillin was not found in groups A, B, C, F and G streptococci except for group D (91.1% resistance for enterococci and 33.3% resistance for non-enterococci) and nongroupable streptococci (12.2% resistance).