Abstract
A prospective surveillance was conducted to monitor the prevalence and dynamics of antimicrobial resistance among enterococci isolated from blood cultures in southern Israel. A total of 242 organisms isolated between 1993 and 1996 were studied. The prevalence ofEnterococcus faecalis significantly decreased during the study period, whereas that ofEnterococcus faecium doubled. Antimicrobial drug resistance increased steadily amongEnterococcus faecium isolates: resistance to ampicillin increased from 19% in 1993–1994 to 53% in 1995, and to 67% in 1996 (p = 0.005); during the same period, resistance to vancomycin increased from 0% to 20%, and to 50% (p = 0.002), and combined resistance to ampicillin and vancomycin and high-level resistance to gentamicin from 0% to 20% and to 38% (p < 0.02).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Moellering RC, Shields WM: The enterococcus: high-level resistance to gentamicin and production of beta-lactamase. Clinical Microbiology Newsletter 1988, 10: 129–132.
Hoffmann SA, Moellering RC: The enterococcus: “putting the bug in our ears”. Annals of Internal Medicine 1987, 106: 757–761.
Moellering RC: Emergence ofEnterococcus as a significant pathogen, Clinical Infectious Diseases 1992, 14: 1173–1178.
Sandra AN, Tailor SA, Bailey EM, Rybak MJ:Enterococcus, an emerging pathogen. Annals of Pharmacotherapy 1993, 27: 1231–1241.
Cross JT Jr, Jacobs RF: Vancomycin-resistant enterococcal infections. Seminars in Pediatric Infectious Diseases 1996, 7: 162–169.
Leclercq R: Enterococci acquire new kinds of resistance. Clinical Infectious Diseases 1997, Supplement 1: 80–84.
Spera RV Jr, Farber BF: Multiply resistantEnterococcus faecium. The nosocomial pathogen of the 1990s, Journal of the American Medical Association 1992, 268: 2563–2564.
Sanchez ML, Barret MS, Jones RN: The E-test applied to susceptibility test of gonococci, multiply resistant enterococci, and enterobacteriaceae producing potent β- lactamase. Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease 1992, 15: 459–463.
Goldmann DA: Vancomycin-resistantEnterococcus faecium: headline news. Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology 1992, 13: 695–699.
Rice LB, Shlaes DM: Vancomycin resistance inEnterococcus. Relevance in pediatrics. Pediatric Clinics of North America 1995, 42: 601–618.
Leclercq R: Epidemiology and control of multiresistant enterococci. Drugs 1996, 52, Supplement 2: 47–49.
Herman DJ, Gerding DL: Antimicrobial resistance among enterococci. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 1991, 35: 1–4.
Schaberg DR: Resistant nosocomial enterococcal infections, Infectious Diseases Newsletter 1988, 7: 73–75.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Marcus, N., Peled, N. & Yagupsky, P. Rapid increase in the prevalence of antimicrobial drug resistance among enterococcal blood isolates in southern Israel. Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. 16, 913–915 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01700558
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01700558