Description of optochin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae due to an uncommon mutation in the atpA gene and comparison with previously identified atpC mutants from Brazil.

Optochin susceptibility testing is a major assay used for presumptive identification of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Still, atypical optochin-resistant (Opt) pneumococci have been reported and this phenotype has been attributed to nucleotide substitutions in the genes coding for the FFATPase. While substitutions in the atpC gene (c-subunit of ATPase) are more common and better characterized, data on mutations in the atpA (a-subunit) are still limited.

A five-year retrospective study shows increasing rates of antimicrobial drug resistance in Cabo Verde for both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.

Objectives: Data on baseline drug resistance important in informing future antimicrobial stewardship programs. So far, no data on the antimicrobial drug resistance of clinical isolates available for the African archipelago of Cabo Verde.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis over years (2013-17) of the drug susceptibility profiles of clinical isolates in the two main hospitals of Cabo Verde.

Phenotypic and molecular characterization of optochin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from Brazil, with description of five novel mutations in the ATPC gene.

Optochin (Opt) susceptibility is used largely for the identification of Streptococcus pneumoniae in diagnostic laboratories. Opt-resistant (Opt(r)) S. pneumoniae isolates have been reported, however, indicating the potential for misidentification of this important pathogen.