Epidemiology of Antibiotic and Heavy Metal Resistance in Bacteria: Resistance Patterns in Staphylococci Isolated from Populations Not Known to be Exposed to Heavy Metals

Staphylococci were isolated from clinical specimens obtained from patients not known to be exposed to abnormal levels of heavy metals. The antibiotic and heavy metal resistance patterns of these strains were determined by using a disk diffusion test and computer sorting. Though not absolute, an association of resistance to mercury and tetracycline in coagulase-negative strains was found, in contrast to resistance to copper and penicillin in …