Antimicrobial activity in vitro of cefaclor, a new oral cephalosporin

The antimicrobial activity of cefaclor, a new orally administered cephalosporin derivative, was studied in vitro against a variety of Gram-positive and Gram-negative clinical isolates. Both penicillin-resistant and penicillin-susceptible strains of Staphylococcus aureus were susceptible to cefaclor, with mean MICs of 1.44 and 0.93 microgram/ml, respectively. However, the MBC for penicillin-resistant S. aureus was higher than that for the penicillin-susceptible strains. All strains of Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus viridans, and Streptococcus pneumoniae tested were highly susceptible to cefaclor; all strains of Streptococcus faecalis were highly resistant to cefaclor. Strains of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sp., Proteus mirabilis, and Hemophilus influenzae were susceptible to cefaclor. Eighty per cent of strains of H. influenzae were inhibited by 5 micrograms/ml of cefaclor. Most strains of Enterobacter sp., indole-positive Proteus, Pseudomonas sp., and Serratia sp. were resistant to cefaclor.