Antimicrobial susceptibility and virulence factors of enterococci colonizing intestinal tract of Jordanian infants

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated distribution of enterococci colonizing intestinal tract of infants, their putative virulence factors and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. Methods: A total of 82/186 (44.1%) fecal enterococcal isolates were recovered from infants. All enterococci isolates were identified either E. faecalis or E. faecium using culture and PCR. Results: A significant higher intestinal colonization of enterococci was detected among non-hospitalized compared to hospitalized patients with a percentage of (72 % vs. 28%), respectively. E. faecalis was the predominant species isolated from both groups (75.6%). It had also significantly higher virulence factors genes than E. faecium, while E. faecium had higher rates of antimicrobial resistance than E. faecalis. There was no significant factor related to intestinal colonization of enterococci with birth weight, gestational age of mother, gender, type of feeding, present of disease or administration of antibiotics to mothers or infants. Conclusion: This study presents important epidemiological data on the intestinal colonization of enterococci in both hospitalized and nonhospitalized Jordanian infants.

Molecular Detection of Enterococcal Surface Protein (esp) Gene in Enterococcus faecalis Isolated from Dental Calculus of Patients in Sari, Iran

“…The prevalence of esp gene in our isolates was lower than other studies (1,2,4,(17)(18)(19), and that may be due to geographical differences or various clinical samples which were used in their studies. Moreover, the resistance rate to ampicillin, vancomycin, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin and erythromycin in our study had no significant correlation with the presence of esp gene.…”

“…Moreover, these bacteria are found in other parts of the body such as oral cavity and vagina as well as in water, soil, food, plants and insects (2,3). Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium are the most common species causing human infections and frequently have been associated with nosocomial infections throughout the world (4). E. faecalis is not a normal flora of the mouth but has been observed in diseases such as dental caries, periodontitis and tooth root infections (1).…”

“…E. faecalis is not a normal flora of the mouth but has been observed in diseases such as dental caries, periodontitis and tooth root infections (1). Several virulence factors can cause the accumulation of these bacteria and initiation of dental infections (4,5). Enterococcal surface protein (ESP) is one of these virulence factors (2).…”

Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections and Antibiotics Resistance in Jordan: Current Status and Future Perspective

“…It was rarely isolated from UTIs 101,102,104,106,107,[146][147][148]160,177,[190][191][192][193] , dental diseases, 185 , sinusitis and orbital cellulitis 122 , combat-related traumatic chronic osteomyelitis 124 , and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children 149 . E. faecalis was the most frequent isolate followed by E. faecium 100,189 .…”

“…Enterococcus colonized the intestinal tract of 72% of non-hospitalized infants and 28% of hospitalized infants and was resistant to ampicillin (6.5%, 30%), chloramphenicol (20%, 25.8%), and leveofloxacin (9.7%, 30%) for E. faecalis and E. faecium, respectively, while susceptible to vancomycin, teicoplanin, and linezolid 189 . Enterococci were isolated form different clinical samples 12 , bacteremia in children 89 , bloodstream infections 79,132 , chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia with positive blood cultures 97 , bacterial infections in the first 90 days of life 178 , skin and soft tissue infections from ICU patients 85 , wound infections 82 , bile infections 99 , and nosocomial infections 100 .…”