Prevalence and characterization of vancomycin-resistant enterococci in chicken intestines and humans of Korea.
The prevalence, genotype for antibiotic resistance and antibiotic susceptibility of vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) were determined. And molecular typings of the Enterococcus faecium isolates were analyzed. Prevalence of VRE in chickens, healthy children and intensive care unit (ICU) patients was 41.6%, 7.9%, and 20.4%, respectively. Forty out of 54 isolates from chicken intestines, and 9 out of 11 from ICU patients were identified as Enterococcus faecium. Eleven out of 13 isolates from non-hospitalized young children were E. gallinarium. Twelve strains of E. faecalis were isolated from chicken intestines. The gene for the antibiotic resistance in E. faecium, and E. faecalis was vanA, while that in E. gallinarium was vanC1. E. faecium isolates were resistant to most of antibiotics except ampicillin and gentamicin. Molecular typing of the E. faecium strains obtained by pulse field gel electrophoresis and repetitive sequence-based PCR suggest that VRE transmit horizontally from poultry to humans, especially young children, via the food chains in Korea.
Seong
Chi Nam
CN
Department of Biological Science, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 540-742, Korea.
Shim
Eun Sook
ES
Kim
Shin Moo
SM
Yoo
Jin Cheol
JC
D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D002645:Chickens / Q000382:microbiology*; D002648:Child; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D016983:Enterococcus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology*; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020713:Vancomycin Resistance / Q000235:genetics
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004269:DNA, Bacterial