Heavy metal and disinfectant resistance in clinical isolates of gram-negative rods.

Ninety-five clinical strains of Gram-negative bacteria were examined for resistance to mercury, silver and disinfectants. 41% of the strains possessed resistance to mercury, 21% to silver and 7.3% of the strains were resistant to chlorhexidine. Mercury resistance was shown to be plasmid-mediated in 17 strains and silver resistance in 10 strains. Chlorhexidine resistance was not shown to be transferable.