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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, June 2003, p. 2337-2340, Vol. 41, No. 6
0095-1137/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.41.6.2337-2340.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Emergence of Rifampin-Resistant Rhodococcus equi with Several Types of Mutations in the rpoB Gene among AIDS Patients in Northern Thailand

Norichika Asoh,^1* Hiroshi Watanabe,¹ Marguerite Fines-Guyon,² Kiwao Watanabe,¹ Kazunori Oishi,¹ Weerayut Kositsakulchai,³ Tippaya Sanchai,³ Khemrassamee Kunsuikmengrai,³ Sumpun Kahintapong,³ Banyong Khantawa,⁴ Prasit Tharavichitkul,⁴ Thira Sirisanthana,⁵ and Tsuyoshi Nagatake¹

Department of Internal Medicine, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan,¹ Service de Microbiologie, CHU Côte de Nacre, 14033 Caen Cedex, France,² Nakornping Hospital,³ Departments of Microbiology,⁴ Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand⁵

Received 6 December 2002/ Returned for modification 12 February 2003/ Accepted 11 March 2003

The antimicrobial susceptibilities of 30 Rhodococcus equi isolates obtained from 30 patients between 1993 and 2001 in northern Thailand were investigated. The MICs showed a tendency toward resistance to various antibiotics but sensitivity to imipenem, minocycline, vancomycin, and teicoplanin (MICs, 0.5 µg/ml) and relative sensitivity to meropenem, clarithromycin, and ciprofloxacin (MICs, 2 µg/ml). Of the 30 isolates, 26 were susceptible (MICs, 1 µg/ml), 1 showed low-level resistance (MIC, 8 µg/ml), and 3 showed high-level resistance (MICs, 64 µg/ml) to rifampin. PCR amplification and DNA sequencing of the rpoB gene and molecular typing by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were performed for eight R. equi isolates from eight AIDS patients with pneumonia or lung abscess caused by R. equi between 1998 and 2001, including one low- and three high-level rifampin-resistant isolates. As a result, two high-level rifampin-resistant strains with PFGE pattern A had a Ser531Trp (Escherichia coli numbering) mutation, and one high-level rifampin-resistant strain with PFGE pattern B had a His526Tyr mutation, whereas one low-level rifampin-resistant strain with PFGE pattern C had a Ser509Pro mutation. Four rifampin-susceptible strains with PFGE patterns D and E showed an absence of mutation in the rpoB region. Our results indicate the presence of several types of rifampin-resistant R. equi strains among AIDS patients in northern Thailand.

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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Internal Medicine, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan. Phone: 81 (95) 849-7842. Fax: 81 (95) 849-7843. E-mail: nori-a{at}net.nagasaki-u.ac.jp.

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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, June 2003, p. 2337-2340, Vol. 41, No. 6
0095-1137/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.41.6.2337-2340.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

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