Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Enterococcus spp and Staphylococcus spp isolated from surfaces in a veterinary teaching hospital.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of enterococci and staphylococci collected from environmental surfaces at a veterinary teaching hospital (VTH).

Design: Longitudinal study.

Sample: Samples collected from surfaces in 5 areas (emergency and critical care, soft tissue and internal medicine, and orthopedic wards; surgery preparation and recovery rooms; and surgery office and operating rooms) of a VTH.

Procedures: Selected surfaces were swabbed every 3 months during the 3-year study period (2007 to 2009). Isolates of enterococci and staphylococci were identified via biochemical tests, and antimicrobial susceptibility was evaluated with a microbroth dilution technique. A subset of isolates was analyzed to assess clonality by use of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

Results: 430 samples were collected, and isolates of enterococci (n = 75) and staphylococci (110) were identified. Surfaces significantly associated with isolation of Enterococcus spp and Staphylococcus spp included cages and a weight scale. Fourteen Enterococcus spp isolates and 17 Staphylococcus spp isolates were resistant to ≥ 5 antimicrobials. Samples collected from the scale throughout the study suggested an overall increase in antimicrobial resistance of Enterococcus faecium over time. Clonality was detected for E faecium isolates collected from 2 different surfaces on the same day.

Conclusions And Clinical Relevance: Although not surprising, the apparent increase in antimicrobial resistance of E faecium was of concern because of the organism's ability to transmit antimicrobial resistance genes to other pathogens. Results reported here may aid in identification of critical control points to help prevent the spread of pathogens in VTHs.