SURVIVAL OF VANCOMYCIN-RESISTANT AND VANCOMYCIN-SUSCEPTIBLE ENTEROCOCCI ON DRY SURFACES

We compared the abilities of Enterococcus faecium strains (three vanco mycin-resistant enterococci [VRE] and five vancomycin-susceptible ente rococci [VSE]) and Enterococcus faecalis strains (one VRE and 10 VSE) to sun ive under dry conditions. Bacterial suspensions of the strains were inoculated onto polyvinyl chloride and stored under defined condi tions for up to 16 weeks. All strains survived for at least I week, an d two strains survived for 4 months. A statistical model was used to d istribute the 19 resulting survival curves between two types of surviv al curves, The type of survival curve was not associated with the spec ies (E. faecalis versus E. faecium), the source of isolation (patient versus environment), or the susceptibility to vancomycin (VRE versus V SE), Resistance to dry conditions may promote the transmissibility of a strain, but VRE have no advantages over VSE with respect to their ab ility to survive under dry conditions.