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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, December 1998, p. 3734-3736, Vol. 36, No. 12
0095-1137/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Survival of Vancomycin-Resistant and Vancomycin-Susceptible Enterococci on Dry Surfaces

Constanze Wendt,1,* Bettina Wiesenthal,1 Ekkehart Dietz,2 and Henning Rüden1

Institute of Hygiene, Free University Berlin, 12203 Berlin,1 and Institute of Social Medicine, Working Group Epidemiology, Free University Berlin, 14195 Berlin,2 Germany

Received 15 June 1998/Returned for modification 6 August 1998/Accepted 7 September 1998

We compared the abilities of Enterococcus faecium strains (three vancomycin-resistant enterococci [VRE] and five vancomycin-susceptible enterococci [VSE]) and Enterococcus faecalis strains (one VRE and 10 VSE) to survive under dry conditions. Bacterial suspensions of the strains were inoculated onto polyvinyl chloride and stored under defined conditions for up to 16 weeks. All strains survived for at least 1 week, and two strains survived for 4 months. A statistical model was used to distribute the 19 resulting survival curves between two types of survival curves. The type of survival curve was not associated with the species (E. faecalis versus E. faecium), the source of isolation (patient versus environment), or the susceptibility to vancomycin (VRE versus VSE). Resistance to dry conditions may promote the transmissibility of a strain, but VRE have no advantages over VSE with respect to their ability to survive under dry conditions.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute of Hygiene, Free University Berlin, Hindenburgdamm 27, 12203 Berlin, Germany. Phone: (030) 8445 3680. Fax: (030) 8445 3682. E-mail: T.Wendt{at}TBX.BerliNet.de.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, December 1998, p. 3734-3736, Vol. 36, No. 12
0095-1137/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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