title: Vancomycin-resistant gram-positive bacteria isolated from human sources.
abstract: Recent reports of infections with vancomycin-resistant gram-positive bacteria prompted us to study vancomycin-resistant isolates from human sources to characterize the types of bacteria displaying this phenotype. Thirty-six vancomycin-resistant gram-positive isolates, 14 from clinical specimens and 22 from stool samples, were identified. These isolates were tentatively identified as Lactobacillus spp. (25 strains), Leuconostoc spp. (6 strains), and Pediococcus spp. (3 strains) on the basis of morphology and physiological tests. Two isolates of indeterminate morphology could not be unambiguously assigned to a genus. Four isolates of vancomycin-resistant lactobacilli from normally sterile body sites were considered to be clinically significant. Vancomycin-resistant gram-positive bacteria may represent an emerging class of nosocomial pathogens. Better methods for distinguishing the various genera in the clinical microbiology laboratory are needed.
authors.affiliation: Francis Blake Bacteriology Laboratories, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston 02114.
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Ruoff
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Kuritzkes
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Wolfson
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Ferraro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D005260:Female; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014640:Vancomycin / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D014640:Vancomycin