Inter-hospital dissemination of glycopeptide-resistant Enterococcus faecalis in Brazil.

The antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of 73 glycopeptide-resistant Enterococcus faecalis isolates from nine hospitals in Brazil were analysed by the disk diffusion method and Etests. Isolates were typed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and vancomycin resistance genes were detected by PCR. The isolates shared a single major PFGE pattern, with six subtypes, and all were positive for vanA. These results indicate the occurrence of inter-hospital dissemination of glycopeptide-resistant E. faecalis in São Paulo, and raise concerns about the rapid dissemination of this pathogen throughout Brazil.