Epidemiology and molecular analysis of intestinal colonization by vancomycin-resistant enterococci in greek hospitals.

From 1,246 specimens collected from 13 Greek hospitals, 266 vancomycin-resistant enterococci strains were isolated from 255 patients (20.5%). The VanA phenotype was present in 82 (30.8%) strains, the VanB phenotype in 17 (6.4%) strains, the VanC1 phenotype in 152 (57.1%) strains, and the VanC2/C3 phenotypes in 15 (5.6%) strains. When only VanA and VanB phenotypes were considered, the overall prevalence was 7.5%. Eighty-six isolates exhibiting the VanA or VanB phenotype were analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and 46 PFGE groups were found.