Characterization of Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus faecium

Abstract

Background: To determine the species distribution, updated drug susceptibility patterns and genes conferring resistance in clini­cal vancomycin resistant enterococcal (VRE) isolates.

Methods: Clinical enterococcal isolates collected during 7 months, from September 2005 to April 2006 from hos­pitalized pa­tients and outpatients were studied. Twenty five VRE were isolated from 450 enterococci samples (5.6%). VRE isolates were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility tests. Genotype of these isolates was determined by PCR.

Results: All of the isolateswere E. faecium and carried the vanA gene. Antibiotic susceptibility tests showed that the iso­lates were resistant to ampicillin 25(100%), ciprofloxacin 25(100%), gentamicin 24(96%), erythromycin 25(100%), tetracy­clin 10(40%) and chloramphenicol 2(8%).

Conclusion: VRE strains were resistant to three antibiotics and were susceptible to new antibiotics linezolid and dalfopris­tin-quinupristin. Switching to treatment with these antibiotics would relieve the problem for a short time.