Linezolid-Resistant Enterococci in Greece: Epidemiological Characteristics

Background: 14 linezolid-resistant enterococci (6 Enterococcus faecium and 8 Enterococcus faecalis) collected during 2009 from patients hospitalized in intensive care units of different Greek hospitals were investigated. Methods: The mechanism of resistance to linezolid was determined by sequencing analysis of the domain V of 23S rDNA, while the clonal relatedness was defined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and multilocus sequence typing. Results: All linezolid-resistant enterococci carried the G2576T mutation. E. faecium belonged to the international epidemic clones ST16, ST17, ST203 and ST65, while all E. faecalis strains belonged to the ST28 clone. Conclusions: The spread of common linezolid-resistant enterococcal clones in intensive care units located in different areas of Greece emphasizes the importance of application of infection control measures to prevent the spread of such strains. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel