- Marilyn C Roberts: Department of Pathobiology, Box 357238, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. marilynr@u.washington.edu
Macrolides have enjoyed a resurgence as new derivatives and related compounds have come to market. These newer compounds have become important in the treatment of community-acquired pneumoniae and nontuberculosis-Mycobacterium diseases. In this review, the bacterial mechanisms of resistance to the macrolide, lincosamide, streptogramin, ketolide, and oxazolidinone antibiotics, the distribution of the various acquired genes that confer resistance, as well as mutations that have been identified in clinical and laboratory strains are examined.