Prevalence and chemosusceptibility of Neisseria meningitidis and Haemophilus influenzae in a population of central Italy

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of nasopharyngeal carriers of Neisseria meningitidis and Haemophilus influenzae, and to evaluate their chemoresistance. N. meningitidis was more frequently isolated in adolescents (10-15 years). All of meningococci were susceptible to ceftriaxone and rifampin, only one isolate showed reduced susceptibility to chloramphenicol and four strains showed reduced penicillin susceptibility. The results show that these drugs are still effective for prophylaxis and treatment in our area. All strains of H. influenzae were susceptible to penicillin, ceftriaxone, chloramphenicol, rifampin, azithromicin and gentamicin. 6 nontypeable strains were resistant to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, 7 strains of type a and c-f, and 3 non-typeable strains showed reduced susceptibility to tetracycline. In contrast with the current trend in the world, in our area the susceptibility of H. influenzae to betalactams was 100%, therefore these antibiotics are still the drugs of choice for treatment of invasive diseases.