Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern of Enterococcus Species Isolated from Clinical Samples in South India

Enterococci are common cause of hospital acquired infection and have become progressively more resistant to antibiotic. Among the 13 Enterococcus species ninety percentage of Enterococcal infection are due to Enterococcus faecalis .E. faecalis is a causative agent for nosocomial infection. The present study was carried out to asses the changing trends in antibiotic susceptibility of Enterococcus species isolated from clinical samples from Gulbarga region.122 samples were collected from various hospitals and diagnostic centers in Gulbarga region. The clinical isolates were identified by Facklam and Collins conventional method. The susceptibility tests were done against vancomycin, ampicillin, oxacillin, rifamycin, ciprofloxacin, tobramycin, gentamycin, teicoplanin and streptomycin by Kirby bauer method. MIC of resistant E. faecalis isolates were determined by NCCLS method. In our study, E. faecalis strains found to be 50% multi-drug resistant and the resistance was more in case of vancomycin antibiotic. The E. faecium isolates showed high resistance to gentamycin and streptomycin among the few MDR strains. E. durans were susceptible to all the antibiotic expect streptomycin and E. gallinarium were found susceptible to all antibiotics. The MIC’s determined of the 12 strains, showed the prevalence of HLAR and HLGR among the E .faecalis isolates. The present study reveals for the first time emergence of vanocmycin resistant enterococci from this part of world and indicates the magnitude of antibiotic resistance in and around the study area. .