Introduction and spread of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) at a German tertiary care medical center from 2004 until 2010 : a retrospective whole-genome sequencing (WGS) study of the molecular epidemiology of VREfm

© 2024. The Author(s)..

BACKGROUND: In most of Europe and especially in Germany, there is currently a concerning rise in the number of hospital-acquired infections due to vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm). Therefore, there is a need to improve our understanding of the way VREfm spreads in hospitals. In this study, we investigated the molecular epidemiology of VREfm isolates from the first appearance at our university hospital in 2004 until 2010. There is only very scarce information about the molecular epidemiology of VREfm from this early time in Germany.

METHODS: Our analysis includes all available first VREfm isolates of each patient at our tertiary care center collected during the years 2004-2010. If available, additional consecutive VREfm isolates from some patients were analyzed. We used multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) for the analysis and description of nosocomial transmission pathways as well as the detection of outbreaks.

RESULTS: VREfm isolates from 158 patients and 76 additional subsequent patient isolates were included in the analysis. Until 2006, detections of VREfm remained singular cases, followed by a peak in the number of VREfm cases in 2007 and 2008 with a subsequent decline to baseline in 2010. MLST and cgMLST analysis show significant changes in the dominant sequence types (STs) and complex types (CTs) over the study period, with ST192 and ST17 being responsible for the peak in VREfm cases in 2007 and 2008. The four largest clusters detected during the study period are comprised of these two STs. Cluster analysis shows a focus on specific wards and departments for each cluster. In the early years of this study (2004-2006), all analyzed VREfm stemmed from clinical specimens, whereas since 2007, approximately half of the VREfm were detected by screening. Of the 234 VREfm isolates analyzed, 96% had a vanB and only 4% had a vanA resistance genotype.

CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective study contributes significant knowledge about regional VREfm epidemiology from this early VREfm period in Germany. One remarkable finding is the striking dominance of vanB-positive VREfm isolates over the entire study period, which is in contrast with countrywide data. Analysis of cgMLST shows the transition from sporadic VRE cases at our institution to a sharp increase in VRE numbers triggered by oligoclonal spread and specific outbreak clusters with the dominance of ST192 and ST17.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2024

Erschienen:

2024

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:13

Enthalten in:

Antimicrobial resistance and infection control - 13(2024), 1 vom: 14. Feb., Seite 20

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Caplunik-Pratsch, Aila [VerfasserIn]
Kieninger, Bärbel [VerfasserIn]
Donauer, Veronika A [VerfasserIn]
Brauer, Johanna M [VerfasserIn]
Meier, Vanessa M K [VerfasserIn]
Seisenberger, Corinna [VerfasserIn]
Rath, Anca [VerfasserIn]
Loibl, Daniel [VerfasserIn]
Eichner, Anja [VerfasserIn]
Fritsch, Jürgen [VerfasserIn]
Schneider-Brachert, Wulf [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

6Q205EH1VU
CgMLST
Epidemiology
Germany
Infection control
Journal Article
MLST
Outbreak
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
VRE
Vancomycin
Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 16.02.2024

Date Revised 22.02.2024

published: Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1186/s13756-024-01379-4

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM368456153