The antimicrobial susceptibility of Helicobacter pylori strains isolated from children and adults with primary infection in the Lower Silesia Region, Poland.

The resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics has become a serious issue in recent years in the therapy of bacterial infections. This problem also concerns the treatment of infections caused by Helicobacter pylori strains. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of primary resistance of H. pylori strains isolated from children and adults. The subject of the research was 105 strains of H. pylori isolated from children and 60 strains from adults in the Lower Silesia Region in the years 2008-2011. Antimicrobial susceptibility to the following antibiotics was assessed: amoxicillin (AC), clarithromycin (CH), metronidazole (MZ), tetracycline (TC), levofloxacin (LEV) and rifabutin (RB). Among the strains isolated from children, 33.3% were resistant to CH, 44.8% to MZ whereas 1.9% of strains were resistant simultaneously to CH, MZ and LEV. Among 60 strains isolated from adults, 23.3% were resistant to CH, 66.7% to MZ, and 6.7% to LEV. Moreover, 16 multidrug resistant strains were isolated from adults, including 12 resistant to CH and MZ, 3 to MZ and LEV, and 1 to CH, MZ and LEV. All examined strains were susceptible to AC, TC and RB. The high incidence of resistance to CH and MZ suggests that standard triple therapies may not be useful as first-line treatment in Poland without earlier susceptibility testing.