Antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus isolates obtained from fecal samples of healthy children.

Thirty-nine Staphylococcus isolates with different mechanisms of resistance were recovered from the feces of 50 healthy children and tested for their susceptibilities to 17 antibiotics. The percentages of resistance of the staphylococci to some antibiotics were as follows: penicillin, 87%; erythromycin, 64%; tobramycin, 36%; tetracycline, 20.5%; kanamycin, 15%; and gentamicin, 13%. The mecA gene was detected in nine coagulase-negative staphylococci.