Glycopeptide resistance in Enterococcus spp. and coagulase-negative staphylococci from hospitalised patients in Germany: occurrence, characteristics and dalbavancin susceptibility.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of glycopeptide resistance in enterococci and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) and to determine the susceptibilities of the identified glycopeptide-resistant isolates to dalbavancin.

Methods: Twenty-two medical laboratories participated in the study conducted in 2016/17 by the Paul-Ehrlich-Society for Chemotherapy. Each laboratory was asked to collect 30 Enterococcus spp.

Long-Lasting Decrease of the Acquisition of and Gram-Negative Bacteria Producing Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL) by Transient Application of Probiotics.

Previously it was shown that application of probiotics stopped the acquisition of vancomycin-resistant (VRE) by patients in an early rehabilitation ward. Once the application of probiotics ended, we examined whether acquisition of VRE reoccurred. Furthermore, we examined whether probiotics altered prevalence of vancomycin-susceptible (VSE) and Gram-negative bacteria, which produce extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL).

A Nosocomial Cluster of Tigecycline- and Vancomycin-Resistant Isolates and the Impact of and (M) Mutations on Tigecycline Resistance.

Tigecycline-resistant enterococci are only rarely detected worldwide. In 2017, the National Reference Centre for Staphylococci and Enterococci noticed a nosocomial cluster of tigecycline- and vancomycin-resistant (TVRE) in a hospital of tertiary care in Northern Germany. Nineteen isolates were analyzed by means of antimicrobial susceptibility testing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

Validating a screening agar for linezolid-resistant enterococci.

Background: Linezolid is an alternative treatment option for infections with multidrug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria including vancomycin-resistant enterococci. Some countries report an increasing number of isolates with resistance to linezolid. The recent publication of the Commission for Hospital Hygiene in Germany on enterococci/VRE recommends screening for linezolid-resistant enterococci (LRE).

Development of a multiplex-PCR to simultaneously detect acquired linezolid resistance genes cfr, optrA and poxtA in enterococci of clinical origin.

Linezolid-resistant enterococcus spp. are increasingly recognized by diagnostic laboratories. Resistance can be mediated by the expression of cfr, optrA or poxtA.

Treatment with and Nissle is safe and associated with reduced nosocomial transmission of B vancomycin-resistant on an early rehabilitation ward in Germany: a retrospective analysis.

Purpose: According to the WHO vancomycin-resistant (VRE) belongs to the microorganisms for which new antibiotics are urgently needed. Depending on the type of vancomycin resistance A gene VRE is differentiated from B VRE and other types. In this retrospective analysis the results of VRE surveillance performed at a German tertiary hospital with approximately 1,200 beds between 2013 and 2017 are shown.

A Core Genome Multilocus Sequence Typing Scheme for Enterococcus faecalis.

Among enterococci, occurs ubiquitously, with the highest incidence of human and animal infections. The high genetic plasticity of complicates both molecular investigations and phylogenetic analyses. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) enables unraveling of epidemiological linkages and putative transmission events between humans, animals, and food.

Rapid emergence of highly variable and transferable oxazolidinone and phenicol resistance gene optrA in German Enterococcus spp. clinical isolates.

The number of linezolid-resistant Enterococcus spp. isolates received by the National Reference Centre for Staphylococci and Enterococci in Germany has been increasing since 2011. Although the majority are E.

Emergence and control of linezolid-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis in an ICU of a German hospital.

Objectives: To investigate an outbreak of linezolid-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (LRSE) in an interdisciplinary ICU, linezolid consumption and infection control measures taken.

Methods: Routine surveillance of nosocomial infections revealed colonization and infection with LRSE affecting 14 patients during a 15 month period. LRSE isolates were analysed with respect to their clonal relatedness, antimicrobial susceptibility, the presence of cfr and/or mutations in the 23S rRNA, rplC, rplD and rplV genes.

Comparative evaluation of VITEK® 2 and three commercial gradient strip assays for daptomycin susceptibility testing of Staphylococcus aureus.

Objectives: MRSA remains a major cause of severe nosocomial infections and the increased use of vancomycin and daptomycin for MRSA treatment over the last decade has led to the isolation of MRSA strains with decreased daptomycin susceptibility. In addition, a growing number of MSSA isolates with reduced susceptibility to daptomycin have been described lately. Surveillance of the emergence of such a daptomycin-non-susceptible MSSA population requires prompt and reliable daptomycin susceptibility testing.

Nursing staff fluctuation and pathogenic burden in the NICU - effective outbreak management and the underestimated relevance of non-resistant strains.

In the course of a hospital management takeover, a microbial outbreak took place in a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Here, we characterize the outbreak and its management. About 4 months prior to takeover, there was a sharp increase in positive isolates for MSSA and multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs).

Detection of a cfr(B) Variant in German Enterococcus faecium Clinical Isolates and the Impact on Linezolid Resistance in Enterococcus spp.

The National Reference Centre for Staphylococci and Enterococci in Germany has received an increasing number of clinical linezolid-resistant E. faecium isolates in recent years. Five isolates harbored a cfr(B) variant gene locus the product of which is capable of conferring linezolid resistance.

Does antibiotic resistance impair plasma susceptibility of multi-drug resistant clinical isolates of enterococci in vitro?

Background: Cold atmospheric plasma could constitute an alternative against multi-drug resistant pathogens. Susceptibility of enterococci to cold atmospheric plasma was investigated in vitro.

Methods: 39 clinical isolates of enterococci were grouped dependent on the most important resistance patterns and treated on agar using dielectric barrier discharge plasma.

Population structure and acquisition of the vanB resistance determinant in German clinical isolates of Enterococcus faecium ST192.

In the context of the global action plan to reduce the dissemination of antibiotic resistances it is of utmost importance to understand the population structure of resistant endemic bacterial lineages and to elucidate how bacteria acquire certain resistance determinants. Vancomycin resistant enterococci represent one such example of a prominent nosocomial pathogen on which nation-wide population analyses on prevalent lineages are scarce and data on how the bacteria acquire resistance, especially of the vanB genotype, are still under debate. With respect to Germany, an increased prevalence of VRE was noted in recent years.

Complete Genome Sequence of the Gut Commensal and Laboratory Strain Enterococcus faecium 64/3.

The genome sequence of the commensal and widely used laboratory strain Enterococcus faecium 64/3 was resolved by means of PacificBioscience and Illumina whole-genome sequencing. The genome comprises 2,575,333 bp with 2,382 coding sequences as assigned by NCBI.

Evaluation of DiversiLab®, MLST and PFGE typing for discriminating clinical Enterococcus faecium isolates.

We evaluated and critically assessed the performance and discriminatory power of a rep-PCR based commercial test DiversiLab® Enterococcus kit (bioMerieux) for typing a set of 65 representative isolates of Enterococcus faecium/VRE and compared it to state-of-the-art typing techniques such as PFGE and MLST.

Increased frequency of linezolid resistance among clinical Enterococcus faecium isolates from German hospital patients.

Linezolid is an antibiotic of last resort for the treatment of infections with vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). Here we report the increasing prevalence of linezolid resistance among clinical Enterococcus faecium strains from German hospital patients. Linezolid minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined for 4461 clinical E.

Pre-Use Susceptibility to Ceftaroline in Clinical Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from Germany: Is There a Non-Susceptible Pool to be Selected?

Ceftaroline is a new cephalosporin active against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Based on a representative collection of clinical S. aureus isolates from Germany, supplemented with isolates of clonal lineages ST228 and ST239, we demonstrate the in-vitro susceptibility towards ceftaroline prior to its introduction into clinical use for a total of 219 isolates.

Vancomycin-resistant vanB-type Enterococcus faecium isolates expressing varying levels of vancomycin resistance and being highly prevalent among neonatal patients in a single ICU.

Background: Vancomycin-resistant isolates of E. faecalis and E. faecium are of special concern and patients at risk of acquiring a VRE colonization/infection include also intensively-cared neonates.

Cross-transmission rates of enterococcal isolates among newborns in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Enterococci are important pathogens causing nosocomial infections and patients at risk include also premature babies requiring intensive care treatment. Our aim was to assess occurrence and cross transmission rates of enterococci among neonatal patients of a hospital ward during a two months period. Rectal and skin samples were taken between day one and 60 of infants' age.

Insight into antimicrobial susceptibility and population structure of contemporary human Enterococcus faecalis isolates from Europe.

Objectives: To investigate antimicrobial susceptibility and clonal relatedness of Enterococcus faecalis human isolates recovered recently (2006-09) in six European countries.

Methods: Antimicrobial susceptibility of 386 isolates from Denmark, Germany, Norway, Poland, Spain and The Netherlands, from hospital infections (223 isolates), carriage (82 isolates) and from colonization in the community (81 isolates) was determined by the broth microdilution method. Clonal relatedness of isolates was assessed by multilocus sequence typing.

Comparison of direct cultivation on a selective solid medium, polymerase chain reaction from an enrichment broth, and the BD GeneOhm™ VanR Assay for identification of vancomycin-resistant enterococci in screening specimens.

Fast and reliable diagnostics of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) is an important prerequisite for containing VRE transmission rates and controlling VRE outbreaks among hospital patients. The BD GeneOhm™ VanR Assay (Becton Dickinson Diagnostics, Erembodegem, Belgium) is a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for screening perianal/rectal samples for the presence of vanA or vanB genes that can be associated with VRE. A set of 51 reference strains (vanA-G genotypes) were correctly identified.

IS element IS16 as a molecular screening tool to identify hospital-associated strains of Enterococcus faecium.

Background: Hospital strains of Enterococcus faecium could be characterized and typed by various molecular methods (MLST, AFLP, MLVA) and allocated to a distinct clonal complex known as MLST CC17. However, these techniques are laborious, time-consuming and cost-intensive. Our aim was to identify hospital E.