Multiply antibiotic-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae recovered from Spanish hospitals (1988-1994): novel major clones of serotypes 14, 19F and 15F

Spain has the highest incidence of multiply antibiotic-resistant isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Of the prevalent serotypes, only three isolates have been characterized: serogroup 23, 6 and 14. Studies of 95 multiply antibiotic pneumococci isolated in Spain between 1988 and 1994 identified two new serogroups, 19 and 15, in addition to the previously characterized serogroups. Eighteen of the 24 isolates of serogroup 19 were members of a penicillin-resistant clone that is suggested to be a serotype 19F variant of serotype 23F, while the isolates of serotype 14 appeared to be members of an unknown penicillin-resistant clone.