Characterizing vancomycin-resistant enterococci in neonatal intensive care

Emerg Infect Dis. 2005 Sep;11(9):1470-2. doi: 10.3201/eid1109.050148.

Abstract

Repetitive sequence-based polymerase chain reaction fingerprinting was used to characterize 23 vancomycin-nonsusceptible enterococcal isolates from 2003 to 2004. Five genetically related clusters spanned geographically distinct referring centers. DNA fingerprinting showed infant-to-infant transmission from referring institutions. Thus, community healthcare facilities are a source of vancomycin-nonsusceptible enterococci and should be targeted for increased infection control efforts.

MeSH terms

  • Enterococcus / drug effects
  • Enterococcus / genetics*
  • Enterococcus / isolation & purification
  • Humans
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Intensive Care Units, Neonatal*
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests / methods
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Vancomycin Resistance / genetics*