Among 1,011 recently isolated Streptococcus pyogenes isolates from 10 Central and Eastern European centers, the MICs at which 50% of isolates are inhibited (MIC(50)s) and the MIC(90)s were as follows: for telithromycin, 0.03 and 0.06 microg/ml, respectively; for erythromycin, azithromycin, and clarithromycin, 0.06 to 0.125 and 1 to 8 microg/ml, respectively; and for clindamycin, 0.125 and 0.125 microg/ml, respectively. Erythromycin resistance occurred in 12.3% of strains. Erm(A) [subclass erm(TR)] was most commonly encountered (60.5%), followed by mef(A) (23.4%) and erm(B) (14.5%). At <0.5 microg/ml, telithromycin was active against 98.5% of the strains tested.