Is Linezolid still working? (Yes)

Link: Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

    Objectives: To investigate the activity of linezolid (an oxazolidinone), a potent choice for community- and hospital-acquired infections, via a worldwide surveillance network called the Zyvox� Annual Appraisal of Potency and Spectrum (ZAAPS) Program.  No linezolid resistance was detected in strains from 16 monitored countries in 2004. Results: Linezolid remained highly active against Streptococcus pneumoniae, viridans group and �-haemolytic streptococci (MIC90, 1 mg/L). Against Staphylococcus aureus, linezolid showed 99.5% of results at 0.5–2 mg/L with only one isolate at 4 mg/L. Oxacillin-resistant S. aureus rates varied between nations and ranged from 1.4% in Sweden to 29.5% in the UK to 65.2% in Mexico. Linezolid MIC values were generally one log2 dilution step lower for coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) when compared with S. aureus. No CoNS strains produced a linezolid result at 4 mg/L. Compared with ZAAPS 2002 and 2003 results for enterococci where seven resistant strains were identified, the 2004 data revealed no resistance and 98.1% of linezolid MIC results were at 1 or 2 mg/L. Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (5.3% overall) varied markedly by country including a high of 47.2% in Korea.

Conclusions: Linezolid continues to be effective in vitro against Gram-positive pathogens from five continents and no oxazolidinone-resistant strains were identified among the 4098 systemically collected strains (2004) or among 20 158 non-United States isolates for the entire ZAAPS Program (2002–04).

Comments

[steven willhite]

What pharma is behind all of this info? If they were concerned about anything but making mone such as caring about people, they would start a good handwashing campaign throughout the nation as a public service message. But then they would not be able to sell all of their dope.