Seasonality of Antibiotic‐Resistant<i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i>That Causes Acute Otitis Media: A Clue for an Antibiotic‐Restriction Policy?

Abstract

Rapid seasonal decline in resistant AOM-causing pneumococci occurred only in Jewish children, among whom a marked prescribing seasonality was noted, and not in Bedouin children, among whom prescription was less seasonal. The rapid seasonal decrease in resistance associated with markedly reduced antibiotic use suggests that drug-resistant pneumococci may pay a fitness cost.