This retrospective cohort study revealed that linezolid resistance in vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium was dependent on prior linezolid exposure and duration of linezolid therapy. These strains of E. faecium were resistant to the entire class of oxazolidinones.

Inactivation by allelic exchange in clinical isolates of the emerging nosocomial pathogen Enterococcus faecium has been hindered by lack of efficient tools, and, in this study, transformation of clinical isolates was found to be particularly problematic. For this reason, a vector for allelic replacement (pTEX5500ts) was constructed that includes (i) the pWV01-based gram-positive repAts replicat...

Non-faecalis and non-faecium enterococci are an occasional cause of bacteremia, and some cases of infective endocarditis caused by these pathogens have been reported. However, the rate of infective endocarditis in non-faecalis and non-faecium enterococcal bacteremia is still undetermined. We compared the clinical features and the rate of infective endocarditis of 70 cases of non-faecalis and no...

The relatedness among 91 Enterococcus strains representing all validly described species was investigated by comparing a 1,102-bp fragment of atpA, the gene encoding the alpha subunit of ATP synthase. The relationships observed were in agreement with the phylogeny inferred from 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. However, atpA gene sequences were much more discriminatory than 16S rRNA for species ...

Enterococcus faecium has emerged as one of the most important pathogens in healthcare-associated infections worldwide due to its intrinsic and acquired resistance to many antibiotics, including vancomycin. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) is an alternative therapeutic platform that is currently under investigation for the control and treatment of infections. PDT is based on the use of ...

The control of infectious diseases such as swine influenza viruses (SwIV) plays an important role in food production both from the animal health and from the public health point of view. Probiotic microorganisms and other health improving food supplements have been given increasing attention in recent years, but, no information on the effects of probiotics on swine influenza virus is available....

Transient colonization by vancomycin-resistant enterococci of animal origin has been documented in the intestines of humans. However, little is known about whether transfer of the vanA gene occurs in the human intestine. Six volunteers ingested a vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium isolate of chicken origin, together with a vancomycin-susceptible E. faecium recipient of human origin. Tran...

Technological and safety-related properties were analyzed in lactic acid bacteria isolated from Spanish dry-cured sausages in order to select them as starter cultures. In relation to technological properties, all the strains showed significative nitrate reductase activity; Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus paracasei and 52% of the Enterococcus faecium strains showed lipolytic activity and ...

OBJECTIVES To detect quinupristin-dalfopristin and virginiamycin M1 resistance in Enterococcus faecium from human, food and environmental sources. MATERIALS AND METHODS Enterococcal isolates derived from human faeces and urine, meat and seawater were screened for resistance to quinupristin-dalfopristin and virginiamycin M1 by an agar dilution method. Identification of all E. faecium strains a...

Enterococci are increasingly recognized as an important nosocomial pathogen. The present study was done to establish the changing paradigm of blood culture enterococcal isolates and emergence of Enterococcus faecium as a nosocomial pathogen. A total of 150 Enterococcal isolates were obtained during the study period from January 2013 to March 2014. 68.3% and 31.7% of adult and 53% and 43% of pae...