Molecular determination of van genes among clinical isolates of enterococci at a hospital setting |
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Authors: | Siju Kankalil George MR Suseela Saleh El Safi Elmoeiz Ali Elnagi Yaser A Al-Naam Ahmed Adlan Mohammed Adam Ashly Mary Jacob Thekra Al-Maqati Harish Kumar KS |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dammam, Saudi Arabia;2. Department of Microbiology, Rajah Muthiah Medical College, Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu, India;3. Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medical Education, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, India |
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Abstract: | Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) poses a formidable challenge to public health due to its inherent resistance to multiple antibiotics coupled with the ability to transfer genetic determinants to dangerous pathogens like Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of vancomycin resistance in enterococci among clinical isolates at a tertiary care military hospital in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia and to detect van genes using multiplex-PCR. Overall, 246 isolates of enterococci were collected from various clinical specimens. The isolates were identified, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done using the Vitek 2 system. Multiplex PCR was performed on the VRE isolates, thus identified to determine the van genes harbored. A total of 15 VRE were identified, of which 14 (93.3%) were Enterococcus faecium, and 1(6.7%) was Enterococcus casseliflavus with intrinsic vanC resistance. Of the 14 vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, 8 (57.1%) harbored vanB genes, while 6 (42.8%) harbored vanA genes. All the VRE were susceptible to linezolid and tigecycline. Our study detected a low prevalence (6.1%) of VRE among clinical isolates of enterococci and that the vanB gene predominates in such strains. Susceptibility profiles indicated that linezolid and tigecycline are still effective against these multidrug-resistant pathogens. Pus specimens yielded the highest percentage (53.3%) of isolates from which VRE was obtained, and this finding is novel among studies done in Saudi Arabia. |
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Keywords: | Vancomycin-resistant enterococci Antimicrobial resistance Multiplex PCR |
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