Genotypic diversity, antimicrobial resistance, and virulence factors of human isolates and probiotic cultures constituting two intraspecific groups of Enterococcus faecium isolates.

The intraspecific relationships among a collection of Enterococcus faecium isolates comprising probiotic cultures and human clinical isolates were investigated through the combined use of two high-resolution DNA-fingerprinting techniques. In addition, the incidences of antimicrobial resistance and virulence traits were investigated. A total of 128 E.

Development of a multiplex PCR for the detection of asa1, gelE, cylA, esp, and hyl genes in enterococci and survey for virulence determinants among European hospital isolates of Enterococcus faecium.

A multiplex PCR for the simultaneous detection of five virulence genes (asa1, gelE, cylA, esp, and hyl) in enterococci was developed. The presence of these genes was investigated in 153 clinical and 118 fecal Enterococcus faecium isolates from inpatients at an increased risk of developing infections (such as patients in intensive care units and hematology wards) from 13 hospitals in eight European countries. Of the 271 E.