High acquisition and environmental contamination rates of CC17 ampicillin-resistant Enterococcus faecium in a Dutch hospital

Background Enterococcus faecium has rapidly emerged as a nosocomial pathogen worldwide, and the majority of these isolates belong to clonal complex-17 (CC17). In Europe, CC17 isolates are usually ampicillin-resistant, but most are still vancomycin-sensitive. We aimed to study ampicillin-resistant E . faecium (ARE) epidemiology in our hospital. Methods In a 3 month study, 210 of 358 admissions (59%) to haematology and gastroenterology/nephrology were screened for rectal ARE colonization on admission (<48 h) and 148 of 210 (70%) also at discharge (<72 h). In a second (3 month) study, envir... Mehr ...