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Outbreak of Infections in a Greek University Hospital Involving a Single Clone of High-Level Aminoglycoside-Resistant Enterococcus faecalis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Spyros Pournaras ,
Athanassios Tsakris ,
Mary E. Kaufmann ,
John Douboyas  and
Antonios Antoniadis
Spyros Pournaras
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki
Athanassios Tsakris*
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
Mary E. Kaufmann
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Hospital Infection, Central Public Health Laboratory, London, United Kingdom
John Douboyas
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki
Antonios Antoniadis
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
*
Department of Microbiology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54 006 Thessaloniki, Greece
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Abstract

Among 145 Enterococcus faecalis isolates recovered during a 15-month period (April 1997-June 1998) in AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece, 94 (65%) exhibited high-level resistance to gentamicin or streptomycin and 61 (42%) to both aminoglycosides; 73% of the high-level aminoglycoside-resistant E faecalis isolates belonged to a single clone carrying the gene aac(6')-Ie-aph(2”)-Ia. These findings differ from those of other regions, where high-level aminoglycoside-resistance genes are dispersed into genetically unrelated strains.

Type
Concise Communications
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 21 , Issue 12 , December 2000 , pp. 786 - 789
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2000

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