A total of 236 enterococci from hospitalized patients were identified to the species level, and their susceptibilities to 11 antibiotics were determined. Overall, 195 (82.6%) and 38 (16.1%) isolates were identified as Enterococcus faecalis and E. faecium, respectively, but the species distribution as determined from blood culture isolates differed markedly. A total of 27 (63.2%) E. faecium isol...

Though poorly studied, sand is an environment with an extended degree of interaction with man. Enterococcal strains can be found in sand but we do not know to what extent these ubiquitous opportunistic nosocomial pathogens isolated from sand carry antimicrobial resistances and virulence traits. In an attempt to fill in this knowledge gap, two distinct types of sand (beach and children playgroun...

Antibiotic resistance in Enterococcus species causing clinical disease was examined in a point-prevalence study in 2005. Twenty-two sites around Australia collected up to 100 consecutive isolates and tested them for susceptibility to ampicillin, vancomycin, high-level gentamicin and/or high-level streptomycin using standardised methods. Results were compared to similar surveys conducted in 1995...

The ability to accumulate tyramine and 2-phenylethylamine by two strains of Enterococcus faecalis and two strains Enterococcus faecium was evaluated in two cultural media added or not with tyrosine. All the enterococcal strains possessed a tyrosine decarboxylase (tyrDC) which determined tyramine accumulation in all the conditions tested, independently on the addition of high concentration of fr...

In vitro biofilm formation was compared among Enterococcus species of bovine origin. One hundred-seventeen enterococcal isolates were tested. Isolates originated from aseptically collected bovine quarter milk samples and bedding samples from a single commercial dairy. Isolates from bovine quarter milk samples originated from mammary glands with clinical mastitis, cows with high somatic cell cou...

Enterococcus, a Gram-positive facultative anaerobic cocci belonging to the lactic acid bacteria of the phylum Firmicutes, is known to be able to resist a wide range of hostile conditions such as different pH levels, high concentration of NaCl (6.5%), and the extended temperatures between 5(°)C and 65(°)C. Despite being the third most common nosocomial pathogen, our understanding on its virulenc...

Whole-cell protein analysis was performed for differentiating 150 enterococcal isolates to the species level, which had previously been identified by extended phenotypic conventional tests. Whole-cell protein profile (WCPP) showed a high degree of similarity within species and comparison between species revealed important differences in band profiles. All Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus ...

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Most Enterococcus faecalis and E. faecium are harmless to humans; however, strains harboring virulence genes, including esp, gelE, cylA, asa1, and hyl, have been associated with human infections. E. faecalis and E. faecium are present in beach waters worldwide, yet little is known about their virulence potential. Here, multiplex PCR was used to compare the distribution of virulence genes among ...