Streptococcus pyogenes
is responsible for a variety of infectious diseases and immunological complications. In this study, 91 isolates of
S. pyogenes recovered from oropharynx secretions were submitted to antimicrobial susceptibility testing,
emm typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis. All isolates were susceptible to ceftriaxone, levofloxacin, penicillin G and vancomycin. Resistance to erythromycin and clindamycin was 15.4%, which is higher than previous reports from this area, while 20.9% of the isolates were not susceptible to tetracycline. The macrolide resistance phenotypes were cMLS
B (10) and iMLS
B (4). The
ermB gene was predominant, followed by the
ermA gene. Thirty-two
emm types and subtypes were found, but five (
emm1,
emm4,
emm12,
emm22,
emm81) were detected in 48% of the isolates. Three new
emm subtypes were identified (
emm1.74,
emm58.14,
emm76.7). There was a strong association between
emm type and PFGE clustering. A variety of PFGE profiles as well as
emm types were found among tetracycline and erythromycin-resistant isolates, demonstrating that antimicrobial resistant strains do not result from the expansion of one or a few clones. This study provides epidemiological data that contribute to the development of suitable strategies for the prevention and treatment of such infections in a poorly studied area.