Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are increasingly isolated from clinical specimens. One hundred clinical isolates of enterococci (E. casseliflavus/E. flavescens [n = 10], E. faecalis [n = 34], E. faecium [n = 43], E. avium [n = 1], E. gallinarum [n = 11], and E. raffinosus [n = 1]) were examined for the presence of vanA, vanB, vanC-1, and vanC-2/3 genes by a single multiplex PCR performed...

Rapid detection of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) infection is very important for control and prevention of nosocomial spread of these bacteria. A multiplex PCR method for rapid screening of VRE has recently been developed. We performed a prospective study of VRE screening tests to compare the performance of PCR to that of a chromogenic agar-based culture method. From January to Decembe...

BACKGROUND A significant increase in the rate of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) bacteremia at our health service, despite improved infection control, prompted us to investigate the cause. METHODS E. faecium bacteremia (including VREfm) over a 12-year period (1998-2009) was investigated using multilocus sequence typing, antibiotic and antiseptic susceptibility profiles, opti...

The efficacy of vancomycin (VM) and teicoplanin (TE), alone and in combination with streptomycin (SM), against enterococci that express low-level VanB-type VM resistance was investigated in experimental endocarditis using isogenic strains of Enterococcus faecalis susceptible to glycopeptides and aminoglycosides or inducibly resistant to low levels of VM (MIC = 16 micrograms/ml). VM was signific...

OBJECTIVES We noted four cases of apparent in vivo emergence of teicoplanin resistance during failed therapy for initially teicoplanin-susceptible vanB vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) infections in solid organ transplant recipients at our institution over a 12 month period. We investigated if in vivo emergence of resistance had occurred, if transplant-related vancomycin-resist...

From 1 January to 31 December 2013, 26 institutions around Australia participated in the Australian Enterococcal Sepsis Outcome Programme (AESOP). The aim of AESOP 2013 was to determine the proportion of enterococcal bacteraemia isolates in Australia that are antimicrobial resistant, and to characterise the molecular epidemiology of the Enterococcus faecium isolates. Of the 826 unique episodes ...

From 1 January to 31 December 2011, 29 institutions around Australia participated in the Australian Enterococcal Sepsis Outcome Programme (AESOP). The aim of AESOP 2011 was to determine the proportion of enterococcal bacteraemia isolates in Australia that are antimicrobial resistant, with particular emphasis on susceptibility to ampicillin and the glycopeptides, and to characterise the molecula...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in urinary isolates in North America, and the activity of various antibiotics against VRE. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-eight medical centres in the United States and 10 centres in Canada assessed the prevalence of VRE in urinary isolates in 2002. Each study site was asked to collect up...

OBJECTIVES During a hospital surveillance programme to detect VRE carriers, an anaerobic vancomycin-resistant bacterial strain CCRI-9842 containing a vanB gene was isolated from a human faecal specimen. In this study, we have characterized this strain and its vanB-containing element. METHODS Strain CCRI-9842 was characterized by 16S rDNA sequencing and susceptibility testing. PCR mapping and ...