Glycopeptide antibiotics containing a hydrophobic substituent display the best activity against vancomycin-resistant enterococci, and they have been assumed to be poor inducers of the resistance system. Using a panel of 26 glycopeptide derivatives and the model resistance system in Streptomyces coelicolor, we confirmed this hypothesis at the level of transcription. Identification of the structu...

Sixty-three stool samples and five bile samples were prospectively collected from 33 patients receiving intravenous vancomycin therapy and were quantitatively analyzed for vancomycin by a competitive immunoassay. Vancomycin was excreted via bile into the stools of almost all patients at concentrations of 3.3 to 94.8 microg/ml after >/=5 days of a therapy of 1 g every 12 h.

BACKGROUND Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) recently have emerged as a nosocomial pathogen among dialysis patients. This study aims to appraise the prevalence, incidence density and risk factors for VRE colonization among these patients. METHODS In this prospective study, 782 stool or rectal swab specimens were collected from 250 chronic hemodialysis patients with an interval of at leas...

Five chromogenic agars, evaluated using 400 stool specimens, were found to be superior in sensitivity (range, 89.9 to 93.9%) to bile esculin azide agar with vancomycin (BEAV) agar (84.8%) for detecting vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), and the results were available 24 to 48 h sooner. The time to detection, need for supplemental testing, color distinction, and breakthrough of non-VRE orga...

Lactonamycin (1) was isolated from a culture broth of Streptomyces rishiriensis MJ773-88K4. Antibiotic 1 exhibited antimicrobial activities against Gram-positive bacteria including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE).

We compared ChromID VRE medium with Enterococcosel containing vancomycin for the detection of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus in 1,007 specimens. ChromID VRE in combination with Gram straining provided a higher specificity than Enterococcosel, irrespective of the incubation time and enrichment.

BACKGROUND Little is known about the effect of meteorological conditions and geographical location on bacterial colonization rates particularly of antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive bacteria. We aimed to evaluate the effect of season, meteorological factors, and geographic location on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) colonization. M...

The first vancomycin-resistant clinical isolates of Enterococcus species were reported in Europe in 1988. Similar strains were later detected in hospitals on the East Coast of the United States. Since then, vancomycin-resistant enterococci have spread with unexpected rapidity and are now encountered in hospitals in most countries. This article reviews the mode of action and the mechanism of bac...

Research and higher education are facing an on-going transformation of practice resulting in the need for effective collaboration and sharing of resources within and across disciplinary and geographical boundaries. Portal technologies and portal-based virtual research and learning environments (VREs and VLEs) already have become standard infrastructures within a large number of research communi...

A number of Enterococcus strains with high-level inducible resistance to vancomycin have been identified, and the relative incidence of these strains has increased significantly in the last years. The first outbreak caused by vancomycin-resistant enterococci in Poland was reported in 1999. Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium is known for its propensity to cause infections which are diffic...