Is There Emergence of β-Lactam Antibiotic-Resistant Streptococcus pyogenes in China?

Streptococcus pyogenes is regarded as susceptible to beta-lactam antibiotics. The guidelines of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) are widely recognized and have long-recommended penicillin for treatment of S. pyogenes infections. There is no CLSI guideline for the treatment of S. pyogenes infections that have intermediate susceptibility or resistance to penicillin. However, there have been several reports of S. pyogenes isolates that are nonsusceptible or even resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics, mostly from Chinese journals. The purpose of this commentary is to show data from the literature which suggests the presence of S. pyogenes isolates that are not susceptible to beta-lactam antibiotics and whether these strains are really nonsusceptible to beta-lactam antibiotics and the presence of mutation in the pbp2x gene requires further research and confirmation.