Mechanism of antimicrobial resistance and resistance transfer in anaerobic bacteria

The antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of anaerobic bacteria has been changing over the past decade. This paper reviews the mechanisms by which these organisms have become resistant to selected antibiotics and reviews data demonstrating that Bacteroides fragilis and Clostridium perfringens possess systems for transferring resistance determinants. Within bacteroides there is widespread resistance to penicillins, cephalosporins and tetracycline compounds while there have been reports of resistance to clindamycin and cefoxitin, and there is rare resistance reported for chloramphenicol and metronidazole. Transfer of resistance to penicillin, tetracycline and clindamycin has been demonstrated in bacteroides, while transfer of tetracycline resistance has been documented in clostridia.