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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, October 1999, p. 3348-3349, Vol. 37, No. 10
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of a vanA-Specific PCR Assay for Detection of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium during a Hospital Outbreak

Michel Roger,1,2,* Marie-Claude Faucher,1 Pierre Forest,1 Pierre St-Antoine,2 and François Coutlée1,2

Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal,1 and Laboratoire d'Épidémiologie Moléculaire, Département de Microbiologie Médicale et Infectiologie, Hôpital Notre-Dame du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal,2 Montréal, Québec, Canada

Received 16 April 1999/Returned for modification 9 June 1999/Accepted 1 July 1999

We investigated the use of PCR as an alternative to culture of fecal samples for detection of vanA-containing Enterococcus faecium during a recent hospital outbreak. Rectal swabs collected consecutively from 223 patients were analyzed by culture with and without enrichment broth and by vanA-specific PCR of enrichment broth samples. Fifty-five specimens were positive for vanA-containing E. faecium by at least one method. The sensitivities of the vanA-specific PCR assay and agar culture with and without enrichment broth were 94.5, 98, and 89%, respectively. All three methods were 100% specific. Final results were obtained much more rapidly by PCR (within 24 to 30 h of specimen submission) than by the culture methods (4 to 5 days). Thus, PCR is an accurate and rapid alternative to culture for detection of vancomycin-resistant enterococci during hospital outbreaks.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Département de Microbiologie Médicale et Infectiologie, Hôpital Notre-Dame, 1560 rue Sherbrooke Est, Montréal, Québec, Canada H2L 4M1. Phone: (514) 281-6000, ext. 5802. Fax: (514) 896-4607. E-mail: michel.roger{at}ssss.gouv.qc.ca.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, October 1999, p. 3348-3349, Vol. 37, No. 10
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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Copyright © 1999 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.