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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, December 2002, p. 4659-4665, Vol. 40, No. 12
0095-1137/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.12.4659-4665.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Characterization of Tn1546 in Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium Isolated from Canine Urinary Tract Infections: Evidence of Gene Exchange between Human and Animal Enterococci

S. Simjee,1* D. G. White,1 P. F. McDermott,1 D. D. Wagner,1 M. J. Zervos,2 S. M. Donabedian,2 L. L. English,1 J. R. Hayes,1,3 and R. D. Walker1

Center for Veterinary Medicine, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, Maryland 20708,1 William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan 48073,2 Department of Cell Biology & Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 207423

Received 16 May 2002/ Returned for modification 30 June 2002/ Accepted 30 August 2002

Thirty-five enterococcal isolates were recovered from dogs diagnosed with urinary tract infections at the Michigan State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital over a 2-year period (1996 to 1998). Isolated species included Enterococcus faecium (n = 13), Enterococcus faecalis (n = 7), Enterococcus gallinarum (n = 11), and Enterococcus casseliflavus (n = 4). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed several different resistance phenotypes, with the majority of the enterococcal isolates exhibiting resistance to three or more antibiotics. One E. faecium isolate, CVM1869, displayed high-level resistance to vancomycin (MIC > 32 µg/ml) and gentamicin (MIC > 2,048 µg/ml). Molecular analysis of this isolate revealed the presence of Tn1546 (vanA), responsible for high-level vancomycin resistance, and Tn5281 carrying aac6'-aph2", conferring high-level aminoglycoside resistance. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis revealed that CVM1869 was a canine E. faecium clone that had acquired Tn1546, perhaps from a human vancomycin-resistant E. faecium. Transposons Tn5281 and Tn1546 were located on two different conjugative plasmids. Sequence analysis revealed that in Tn1546, ORF1 had an 889-bp deletion and an IS1216V insertion at the 5' end and an IS1251 insertion between vanS and vanH. To date, this particular form of Tn1546 has only been described in human clinical vancomycin-resistant enterococcus isolates unique to the United States. Additionally, this is the first report of a vancomycin-resistant E. faecium isolated from a companion animal in the United States.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Veterinary Medicine, 8401 Muirkirk Road, Laurel, MD 20708. Phone: (301) 827-8046. Fax: (301) 827-8250. E-mail: ssimjee{at}cvm.fda.gov.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, December 2002, p. 4659-4665, Vol. 40, No. 12
0095-1137/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.12.4659-4665.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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