[Monitoring bacterial resistance to antibiotics in the CroatianRepublic]. / Pracenje rezistencije bakterija na antibiotike u Republici Hrvatskoj.

In 1996 a Committee for antibiotic resistance surveillance in Croatia was founded by the Croatian Academy of Medical Sciences. In this study antibiotic surveillance results for the period June 1-December 31, 1997 from 12 microbiology laboratories throughout Croatia are presented. Sensitivity to antibiotics was determined by disk diffusion method for the following bacteria: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus spp., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In general, high proportion of resistant isolates was recorded throughout Croatia, although some regional variations were noticed. Mean resistance of pneumococci to penicillin was 38%, in S. aureus resistance to methicillin was 47%, and 3rd generation cephalosporin-resistance in E. coli was 6% and in Klebsiella spp. 21%. In P. aeruginosa resistance to gentamicin averaged 50%, to imipenem 13% and to ceftazidim 8%. Future aims of the Committee are to continue routine antibiotic resistance surveillance during certain periods every year, and to estimate clinical significance of resistant bacteria, detect mechanisms of resistance and improve the quality of laboratory work through education and quality control projects.

Familial epidemic of meningococcal disease.

Two closely related boys from the same house hold (Home 1), aged two and three, were affected with fulminant meningococcal sepsis known as Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome. Neisseria meningitidis serogorup B was isolated from their blood and cerebrospinal fluid. The two-year-old boy died one day after the onset of the disease. Epidemiological examination of contacts and pharyngeal swabs were performed in 14 persons from the household, all of them relatives of the affected children, as well as in a number of other contacts. Chemoprophylaxis with cotrimoxazole was simultaneously administered to all contacts. Family histories revealed that two contacts from the household where the patients did not live (Home 2) were inadvertently omitted. Subsequent examinations, following a report of another contagious disease (salmonelosis), revealed that these two persons were Neisseria meningitidis carriers, together with another one in the same household. The carriers most probably caused the infection of a third, five-year-old boy, the deceased boy's brother (Home 1) who also developed fulminant meningococcal sepsis. The failure to take the appropriate prophylaxis led to a prolonged carrier state in the carrier from the second household. Repeated pharyngeal swab sampling revealed two more carriers from both households that had previously been negative. Control of the epidemic was achieved after 5 weeks by repeated and controlled chemoprophylaxis with ciprofloxacin, and by repeated epidemiological examinations, disinfection, and daily health surveillance by the Sanitary Inspectorate. This extremely rare instance of a familial epidemic with three infected persons emphasizes the need for consistent chemoprophylaxis in meningococcal disease contacts.