Fecal carriage of vancomycin- and ampicillin-resistant Enterococci observed in Swedish adult patients with diarrhea but not among healthy subjects.
During a 1-y prospective study between 1 October 1996 and 30 September 1997, fecal samples from 786 adult patients with diarrhea and 203 healthy control subjects were screened for vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) and ampicillin-resistant Enterococci (ARE). The carriage rates of VRE and ARE were 0.4% and 6%, respectively among patients and 0% among controls. The 3 VRE isolates were all VanA and were obtained from patients who had been abroad (Thailand, Spain, France) within the previous 3 months. Thirteen of the 45 patients with ARE (29%) had been abroad within 2 weeks of the onset of diarrhea. These findings suggest a potential risk of introduction of antibiotic-resistant Enterococci in Swedish hospitals by patients receiving treatment for diarrhea after traveling abroad.
Olofsson
M B
MB
Department of Immunology, Microbiology, Karolinska Institute, Huddinge University Hospital, Sweden.
Pörnull
K J
KJ
Karnell
A
A
Telander
B
B
Svenungsson
B
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000668:Ampicillin Resistance; D002353:Carrier State / Q000382:microbiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D016983:Enterococcus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005260:Female; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D014195:Travel; D020713:Vancomycin Resistance