Epidemiology and Infection

Table of Contents - March 2011 - Volume 139, Issue 03  

Bacterial infections/HAI

Regional spread of vanA- or vanB-positive Enterococcus gallinarum in hospitals and long-term care facilities in Kyoto prefecture, Japan

M. SHIRANOa1, S. TAKAKURAa1 c1, M. YAMAMOTOa1, Y. MATSUMURAa1, A. MATSUSHIMAa1, M. NAGAOa1, N. FUJIHARAa1, T. SAITOa1, Y. ITOa2, Y. IINUMAa1, T. SHIMIZUa3, N. FUJITAa4 and S. ICHIYAMAa1

a1 Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Japan

a2 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Japan

a3 Department of Infectious Diseases, Kyoto City Hospital, Japan

a4 Department of Infection, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan

SUMMARY

Following an outbreak of vanA-positive Enterococcus faecium in 2005 in Kyoto prefecture, regional surveillance of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) was initiated. This revealed vanA- or vanB-positive Enterococcus gallinarum in multiple facilities. Eighty-eight vanA-positive E. gallinarum faecal carriers from 12 facilities and ten vanB-positive E. gallinarum faecal carriers from eight facilities were found. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profiles of the first isolate from each facility showed that 11 of the 12 vanA isolates and three of the eight vanB-positive E. gallinarum isolates belonged to a single clone. This study confirms the clonal spread of vanA- or vanB-positive E. gallinarum in a region and underlines the importance of surveillance of VRE for the presence of vancomycin resistance determinants.

(Accepted April 20 2010)

(Online publication June 01 2010)

Key Words:

Correspondence:

c1 Author for correspondence: Dr S. Takakura, Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54 Shogoin-Kawaharacho, Sakyo, Kyoto, Japan. (Email: stakakr@kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp)

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