Differential antimicrobial susceptibility between human and chicken isolates of vancomycin-resistant and sensitive Enterococcus faecium.

To compare the differential antimicrobial susceptibilities of Enterococcus faecium from humans and whole chicken carcasses, MICs of 12 antimicrobial agents were determined for 54 clinical-isolates (31 vancomycin-resistant [VREF]) and 60 chicken-isolates (29 VREF). Chicken VREF were slightly but consistently more resistant to vancomycin, teicoplanin and avoparcin, compared with human VREF (P<0.01).