First characterization of a cluster of VanA-type glycopeptide-resistant Enterococcus faecium, Colombia

Emerg Infect Dis. 2002 Sep;8(9):961-5. doi: 10.3201/eid0809.010435.

Abstract

From August 1998 to October 1999, glycopeptide-resistant enterococci (GRE) were isolated from 23 infected patients at a teaching hospital in Medellín, Colombia. Identification at the species level and by multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay indicated that all isolates were Enterococcus faecium. The isolates were highly resistant to ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, penicillin, streptomycin, teicoplanin, and vancomycin; they were susceptible only to chloramphenicol, linezolid, and nitrofurantoin. Determination of glycopeptide genotype indicated the presence of the vanA gene in all isolates. Molecular typing by pulsed field gel electrophoresis showed that all isolates were closely related. This study is the first molecular characterization of GRE in Colombia.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics*
  • Carbon-Oxygen Ligases / genetics*
  • Colombia
  • Disease Outbreaks
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial / genetics*
  • Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field
  • Enterococcus faecium / classification*
  • Enterococcus faecium / drug effects*
  • Enterococcus faecium / genetics
  • Enterococcus faecium / isolation & purification
  • Evolution, Molecular
  • Genotype
  • Glycopeptides*
  • Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / microbiology*
  • Hospitals, Teaching
  • Humans
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Glycopeptides
  • VanA ligase, Bacteria
  • Carbon-Oxygen Ligases