Characterization of Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus faecium

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