Possible horizontal transfer of the vanB2 gene among genetically diverse strains of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium in a Korean hospital.
A total of 25 isolates of vanB-containing Enterococcus faecium were recovered from patients in a single Korean hospital over a 20-month period. There were two distinct vanB2 patterns among the 11 pulsed-field gel electrophoresis types; 17 contained the prototype vanB2 and 8 contained a novel vanB2 with a 177-bp deletion in vanY(B). Both vanB2 genes were transmissible in vitro at a mean frequency of 1.1 x 10(-8) transconjugants/donor. These results suggest the horizontal spread of vanB2 is occurring among genetically diverse strains of E. faecium in Korean hospitals.
Lee
W G
WG
Department of Clinical Pathology, Ajou University School of Medicine, San 5, Wonchun-Dong, Paldal-Gu, Suwon 442-749, Korea. weegyo@madang.ajou.ac.kr
Jernigan
J A
JA
Rasheed
J K
JK
Anderson
G J
GJ
Tenover
F C
FC
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field / Q000379:methods; D016984:Enterococcus faecium / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020713:Vancomycin Resistance / Q000235:genetics*
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C079913:VanB protein, Enterococcus