VANCOMYCIN-RESISTANT ENTEROCOCCUS FAECIUM INFECTIONS ON PEDIATRIC WARDS

Abstract

Nosocomial infections with vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) have been reported with increasing frequency in recent years, and are associated with an increase in mortality. Isolates of VRE were first detected in our hospital between September 2006 and January 2007. In this study, we analyzed the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics underlying that resistance and clonal relationships amongst VRE isolated from six patients at pediatric wards. All isolates were identified as Enterococcus faecium and showed resistance to both vancomycin and teicoplanin by disk diffusion and E-test methods. The resistance patterns fbr other anti-microbials were similar, indicating that the isolates might belong to the same clone. The genes responsible for resistance were identified in the isolates by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Four isolates from patients on the same pediatric ward showed the same random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) pattern, suggesting clonal dissemination of a single strain.