First isolation of vancomycin-resistant enteroccoci and spread of a single clone in a university hospital in northwestern Turkey

Abstract

Reported here is the first isolation of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) at a hospital in northwestern Turkey and a description of the ensuing outbreak investigation. The first isolate was obtained from a wound culture of a patient in an intensive care unit. Thereafter, a total of 205 rectal swabs, 67 skin swabs and 123 environmental samples were screened, revealing five more VRE isolates. All isolates showed similar antibiotic resistance patterns, except for two that differed regarding gentamicin resistance. The vanA gene was present in all isolates. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis demonstrated that all isolates belonged to a single clone, with the gentamicin-resistant isolates demonstrating two-band differences. This is the first outbreak to be caused by spread of a single VRE clone in Turkey; it was successfully controlled by strict adherence to appropriate infection control practices.

Türkiye’nin Adana Bölgesinde Gıda ve Klinik Kaynaklı Enterokokların Genotipik İlişkilerinin ve Vankomisin Direnç Özelliklerinin Karşılaştırılması

“…3). The results of our clinical isolate genotypes have been found to be similar to the previous studies (generally the most clinical isolates carried vanA genes) performed in Turkey [24,25] . However, different studies showed variable results concerning the detection rates of vanA and vanB genes in Middle East Countries such as; in Kuwait hospitals, all VRE strains carried the vanA genotype and vanB gene was not detected in any of the isolates [26] .…”

“…While VRE infections acquired in several research hospitals in Turkey have been reported since 1999, the role and mechanism of the reservoirs in the spread of glycopeptide resistance was not explicit in our country, either. Few studies have been performed on vancomycin resistance and genetic diversity of enterococci clinical isolates in Turkey as well as Middle East Countries [10,24,29] .…”

Bacterial Spectrum and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern of Bloodstream Infections in Children with Febrile Neutropenia: Experience of Single Center in Southeast of Turkey

“…After that time, VRE was reported in many hospitals in our country [25][26][27][28]. Fifteen Enterococcus spp.…”

Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcal Infections: Review of Eight Cases

“…İndeks olguda VRE saptandıktan sonra indeks olgunun rektal sürüntüsünde ve aynı odadaki diğer hastaların rektal sürüntü örneklerinde de VRE saptanması, dışkı kaynaklı kolonizasyonun YBÜ'lerde salgın gelişi-mine zemin hazırlaması bakımından dikkat çekicidir. VRE kaynakları; kolonize veya infekte hastalarla kontamine yüzey ve cihazlardır [18] . [20] .…”