Vancomycin resistant enterococci and detection of responsible genes

Objective: Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) have been increasing especially in hospital acquired infections. The present study was carried out to determine prevalence of VRE in hospitalized patients and detection of their drug resistance genes by molecular technique. Methodology: The antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed using disk diffusion and E-test. PCR was performed to detect vancomycin resistance genes. Results: Out of 585 enterococcal isolates, 6 (1%) were positive for VRE. 238 isolates (40%) exhibited resistance to high level gentamicin. Among VRE 50% were identified as E. faecium and the entire VRE bacteria posses van A gene. Conclusion: The present study provides the first local data on the prevalence of VRE in Malaysia and would serve as an alert to the clinicians of the emergence of VRE infections and to take appropriate measure to prevent them.