β-Lactamase Production and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Oral Heterogeneous Fusobacterium nucleatum Populations in Young Children

Oral Fusobacterium nucleatum populations from 20 young, healthy children were examined for β-lactamase production. Ten children (50%) harbored, altogether, 25 β-lactamase-positive F. nucleatum isolates that were identified as F. nucleatum subsp. polymorphum, F. nucleatum subsp. nucleatum, and F. nucleatum subsp. vincentii (J. L. Dzink, M. T. Sheenan, and S. S. Socransky, Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 40:74–78, 1990). In vitro susceptibility of these β-lactamase-producing and 26 non-β-lactamase-producing F. nucleatum isolates was tested with penicillin G, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, tetracycline hydrochloride, metronidazole, trovafloxacin, and azithromycin. Except for penicillin G, the antimicrobials exhibited good activity against all F. nucleatum isolates.