HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kuriyama, T. Articles by Hosein, I. K. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kuriyama, T. Articles by Hosein, I. K. Agricola Articles by Kuriyama, T. Articles by Hosein, I. K.

Molecular characterization of clinical and environmental isolates of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis from a teaching hospital in Wales

¹Department of Oral Surgery, Medicine and Pathology, Dental School, University of Wales College of Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XY, UK ²Department of Infection Prevention and Control, Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XN, UK

Correspondence David W. Williams williamsdd{at}cardiff.ac.uk

Received November 15, 2002
Accepted June 2, 2003

The present study describes the first molecular characterization of environmental and clinical isolates of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in Wales. Over a 3-month period (May–July 2000), 134 isolates of VRE (89 Enterococcus faecium and 45 Enterococcus faecalis) were isolated from the patient environment of the University Hospital of Wales (UHW) in Cardiff, Wales, UK. In addition, over the same time-period, 24 clinical isolates of VRE (20 isolates of E. faecium and four isolates of E. faecalis) were obtained from 14 patients. All study isolates were subjected to PFGE typing and their van genotypes were determined by using multiplex PCR. The vanA PCR product (231 bp) was evident in 146 (92 %) of 158 VRE isolates; the remaining 12 isolates (8 %) were positive for the vanB gene. All isolates of E. faecalis were found to be vanA-positive. In total, 16 PFGE banding profiles (pulsotypes) were observed for environmental isolates of E. faecium, whilst eight pulsotypes were found for isolates of E. faecalis. Some of these pulsotypes were isolated from multiple sites, whereas others were more restricted in their distribution. Eleven pulsotypes were evident for clinical isolates and eight of these (representing 11 isolates) were also encountered in environmental isolates. Eleven clinical isolates of E. faecium (55 %) shared an identical pulsotype that was not detected in environmental isolates. These results demonstrate a heterogeneous environmental population of VRE and an association of certain strains with clinical isolates. Predominance of a single pulsotype (not detected in the environment) amongst clinical isolates suggests non-environmental transmission between patients.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H. Bujdakova, M. Filipova, A. Liskova, and H. Drahovska Molecular characterization of hospital vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis isolated in Slovakia J. Antimicrob. Chemother., February 1, 2004; 53(2): 405 - 406. [Full Text] [PDF]