JAC Advance Access originally published online on November 1, 2002
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Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (2002) 50, 877-882
© 2002 The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
Prevalence of streptogramin resistance genes among Enterococcus isolates recovered from retail meats in the Greater Washington DC area
1 US Food and Drug Administration, Center for Veterinary Medicine, 8401 Muirkirk Road, Laurel, MD 20708; 2 3304 Marie Mount Hall, College Park, MD 20742; 3 Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Received 2 April 2002; returned 19 June 2002; revised 29 August 2002; accepted 9 September 2002
The prevalence of streptogramin resistance genes in enterococci recovered from retail poultry in the Greater Washington DC area was examined. Forty-three chicken and 32 turkey retail samples were analysed. Thirty-one non-Enterococcus faecalis enterococcal strains were isolated that displayed MICs of quinupristin–dalfopristin and virginiamycin of 
4 mg/L. These included Enterococcus faecium (turkey n = 4, chicken n = 23), Enterococcus gallinarum (turkey n = 2, chicken n = 1) and Enterococcus hirae (chicken n = 1). The presence of streptogramin resistance genes was examined by PCR in all non-E. faecalis isolates. The vat(E) gene was detected in 10/23 chicken E. faecium and from 2/4 turkey E. faecium. No other streptogramin resistance genes were detected by PCR. In addition, erm(B) was detected in all the E. faecium and E. gallinarum found in turkeys and in 7/23 E. faecium found in chickens. The vat(E) gene was transferable by conjugation from only two of the 12 E. faecium isolates (one from chicken and one from turkey). This study suggests that there is a high prevalence of low-level streptogramin resistance among enterococci found in retail poultry and that other, yet to be identified, mechanisms operate in these isolates that confer streptogramin resistance in enterococci.
Keywords: Enterococcus faecium, quinupristin–dalfopristin, resistance
* Corresponding author. Tel +1-301-827-8046; Fax +1-301-827-8127; E-mail: ssimjee{at}cvm.fda.gov
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