This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Donabedian, S. M. Articles by Zervos, M. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Donabedian, S. M. Articles by Zervos, M. J.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, September 2006, p. 3361-3365, Vol. 44, No. 9
0095-1137/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.02412-05
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Quinupristin-Dalfopristin Resistance in Enterococcus faecium Isolates from Humans, Farm Animals, and Grocery Store Meat in the United States

Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan,¹ University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan,² Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Veterinary Medicine, Rockville, Maryland,³ Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan,⁴ Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,⁵ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Emerging Infections Program, Atlanta, Georgia,⁶ Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Lansing, Michigan⁷

Received 21 November 2005/ Returned for modification 22 January 2006/ Accepted 4 June 2006

Three hundred sixty-one quinupristin-dalfopristin (Q-D)-resistant Enterococcus faecium (QDREF) isolates were isolated from humans, turkeys, chickens, swine, dairy and beef cattle from farms, chicken carcasses, and ground pork from grocery stores in the United States from 1995 to 2003. These isolates were evaluated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to determine possible commonality between QDREF isolates from human and animal sources. PCR was performed to detect the streptogramin resistance genes vatD, vatE, and vgbA and the macrolide resistance gene ermB to determine the genetic mechanism of resistance in these isolates. QDREF from humans did not have PFGE patterns similar to those from animal sources. vatE was found in 35%, 26%, and 2% of QDREF isolates from turkeys, chickens, and humans, respectively, and was not found in QDREF isolates from other sources. ermB was commonly found in QDREF isolates from all sources. Known streptogramin resistance genes were absent in the majority of isolates, suggesting the presence of other, as-yet-undetermined, mechanisms of Q-D resistance.