Antimicrobial Resistance and Multilocus Sequence Typing of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium Isolated from the Chungcheong Area / 대한임상미생물학회지

BACKGROUND: Enterococcus faecium has emerged as an important nosocomial pathogen worldwide, and this trend has been associated with the dissemination of a genetic lineage designated clonal complex 17 (CC17). In the present study, characterization of the glycopeptide resistance mechanism, genetic relatedness, and pathogenicity in isolates of vancomycin-resistant E. faecium in the Chungcheong area were investigated. METHODS: A total of 37 consecutive, non-duplicate, vancomycin-resistant E. faecium were isolated at three university hospitals in the Chungcheong area. The mechanism of glycopeptide resistance and pathogenicity factors were studied using PCR, and the genetic relatedness was determined via multilocus sequence type and esp repeat profile analysis. Additionally, the quinolone resistance-determining regions of parC and gyrA were sequenced to identify mutations involved in ciprofloxacin resistance. RESULTS: Two genotypes of VRE were confirmed: VanA-phenotype vanA genotype VRE (25 isolates) and VanB-phenotype vanA genotype VRE (12 isolates). MLST analysis revealed five sequence types. A significant result was that ST414 and CNS4 (4-1-1-1-1-1-1) were considered as belonging to CC17. The esp and hyl genes were found in 100% and 86.4% of the isolates, respectively. A total of 37 isolates showed genetic mutations in parC and gyrA. CONCLUSION: All isolated strains in the present study belonged to one of the CC17 genotypes including ST414 and CNS4 (4-1-1-1-1-1-1), which were not previously detected in Korea. The combination of MLST and the esp gene repeat profiles can be useful for genetic characterization of VREF isolates with regard to the evolutionary process and epidemiology of the clones.

Antimicrobial Resistance and Multilocus Sequence Typing of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium Isolated from Clinical Specimens

A total of 58 vancomycin-resistant E. faecium (VREF) was isolated from 3 hospitals located in Daegu, Korea. The VREF isolates were evaluated for the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern and resistance determinants against vancomcin, aminoglycosides, and macrolides. The multilocus sequence types (MLST) were determined to characterize the clonal diversity of the VREF isolates. The VREF isolates were highly resistance to teicoplanin, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, and streptomycin, whereas quinupristin-dalfopristin and linezolid were the most susceptible drugs. All isolates carried the vanA gene. The aac6'-aph2" (n=53) and aadE (n=27) genes were detected in the high-level aminoglycoside resistant (HLAR) isolates. The aac6'-aph2" gene was located in the conjugally transferable plasmids. The ermB and ermA genes were detected in the 54 and 3 VREF isolates, respectively. The VREF isolates showed 11 different sequence types (ST). The VREF isolates belonging to ST192 was the most prevalent (n=19), but detected in one hospital, whereas the isolates belonging to ST203 (n=11) were detected in 3 hospitals. These results suggest that the VREF isolates resistant to aminoglycosides and erythromycin are originated from different clones and specific VREF clones are spread in the study hospitals.

A Case of Vancomycin-resistant E. faecium Peritonitis in Patient with Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis / 감염

Enterococcus is a normal flora of the gastrointestinal or genitourinary tract. With the increased use of vancomycin and third generation cephalosporins, vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) have become one of the major nosocomial pathogens in USA and Europe since 1986. In Korea, patients with VRE infection or colonization were increasingly reported recently and VRE may become a serious nosocomial pathogen in the near future. So we report a case of vancomycin-resistant E. faecium peritonitis in a patient on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.