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...

Oritavancin is a lipoglycopeptide with activity against gram-positive pathogens including vancomycin-resistant enterococci. The impact of human serum albumin (HSA) on oritavancin activity against enterococci was compared to those of vancomycin, daptomycin, teicoplanin, and linezolid in vitro using MIC and time-kill methods. Oritavancin MICs increased between 0- and 8-fold in the presence of HSA...

Campylobacter blood agar with clindamycin incubated in 6% CO2 served as a medium to both screen for vancomycin resistance and select for presumptive enterococci. Colonies that grew on the medium were specifically identified as enterococci within 30 min by the pyroglutamyl-beta-naphthylamide and rapid bile esculin tests. The combination of a selective medium plus rapid enzyme substrate tests off...

Enterococci are part of the normal flora of the gastrointestinal tract. Intra-abdominal and genitourinary enterococcal infections may be complicated by enterococcal bacteremia. Most strains of enterococci fecal flora in antibiotic-naive patients are E. faecalis. Because nearly all E. faecalis strains are sensitive to vancomycin, E. faecalis is synonymous with vancomycin-sensitive enterococci (V...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria are rapidly spreading throughout the world. The epidemiology of multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria in patients who require chronic hemodialysis has not been previously studied. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS A prospective cohort study of an outpatient hemodialysis unit was conducted. Serial surveillanc...

demiologic analysis and genotypic characterization of a nosocomial outbreak of vancomycin-resistant Enterococci. J Clin Microbiol 1993; 31:1280–5. 8. Carmeli Y, Eliopoulos GM, Samore MH. Antecedent treatment with different antibiotic agents as a risk factor for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus. Emerg Infect Dis 2002; 8:802–7. 9. Donskey CJ, Chowdhry TK, Hecker MT, et al. Effect of antibiotic t...

We report here on the characterization of a vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VREF) isolated from a dog with mastitis. The isolate was positive for the vanA, ermB, and tet(M) genes, with vanA and ermB carried on the same transferable plasmid. Comparison of this isolate with VREF from poultry and human sources in New Zealand demonstrated identical SmaI macrorestriction patterns and Tn1...

There is an increasing prevalence of urinary tract infection (UTI) caused by multiresistant gram-negative enteric bacilli such as extended-spectrum beta-lactamase as well as Gram-positive enterococci whose vancomycin-resistance can be as high as 25%. We report on a 68-year-old Caucasian female with a UTI caused by a vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, only tested to be susceptible to gen...

The emergence of resistance in gram-positive bacteria has necessitated a search for new antimicrobial agents. Linezolid is an oxazolidinone, a new class of antibacterial agents with enhanced activity against pathogens. We compared the activity of linezolid to those of other antimicrobial agents against 3,945 clinical isolates. Linezolid demonstrated potent activity against all isolates tested. ...

BACKGROUND Enterococci normally inhabit the intestinal tract of humans and are also a potential pathogen in causing nosocomial infections. The increase in antibiotic resistance and transfer of antibiotic resistance gene to Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) due to co-colonization has increased its importance in research. The aim of the study was to evaluate local epidemiology of nasal and rectal...