ABSTRACT
One hundred strains of Enterococci obtained from various clinical specimens over a period of six months were speciated of which 56 were E. faecalis and 44 were E. faecium. Antimicrobial susceptibility pattern showed 90% of them were resistant to penicillin and 20% of them were resistant to vancomycin. Comparative evaluation of Beta-lactamase production by iodometric method and cloverleaf method showed that the latter was cost effective and easy to perform for routine use.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Enterococcus faecalis/classification , Enterococcus faecium/classification , Humans , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Penicillin Resistance , Vancomycin Resistance , beta-Lactamases/metabolismABSTRACT
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with JB1 or REP consensus oligonucleotides and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were used to study genomic DNA extracted from 31 strains of enterococci. Eleven ATCC strains, representative of 11 species of Enterococcus, were initially tested by JB1-PCR, revealing that Enterococcus malodoratus and Enterococcus hirae presented identical banding patterns. Eight Enterococcus faecium isolates from Stanford University and 12 from Sao Paulo Hospital were studied by JB1-PCR, REP-PCR 1/2R and PFGE. Among the isolates from Stanford University, 5 genotypes were defined by JB1-PCR, 7 by REP-PCR 1/2R and 4 by PFGE. Among the isolates from Sao Paulo Hospital, 9 genotypes were identified by JB1-PCR, 6 by REP-PCR and 5 by PFGE. The three methods identified identical genotypes, but there was not complete agreement among them
Subject(s)
DNA, Bacterial/analysis , Enterococcus faecium/classification , Bacterial Typing Techniques , Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field , Enterococcus faecium/genetics , Genotype , Polymerase Chain ReactionABSTRACT
As Enterococci are now coming up as important nosocomial pathogens, their speciation and antibiotic sensitivity testing is important. 120 isolates of Enterococci from various clinical samples were physiologically and biologically characterised. Speciation on the basis of recommended methods revealed 114(95%) as E. faecalis and 6(5%) as E. faecium. Antibiogram of the 120 isolates showed that 100(83.3%) were sensitive to Ampicillin. Combination of Penicillin and Gentamicin was more effective. E. faecium was more drug resistant.