Enterococci with glycopeptide resistance in turkeys, turkey farmers, turkey slaughterers, and (sub)urban residents in the South of the Netherlands: Evidence for transmission of vancomycin resistance from animals to humans?

The number of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) relative to the total number of enterococci was determined in fetal samples from turkeys and thre e human populations in 1996, each with a different level of contact with tu rkeys, i.e., turkey farmers, turkey slaughterers, and (sub)urban residents. The percentage of VRE relative to the total enterococcal population (i.e., the degree of resistance) was low (2 to 4%) in all groups (except in six s amples), No difference was observed between farmers who used avoparcin and those who did not. The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns of the VRE isolates from the different populations were quite heterogeneous, b ut isolates with the same PFGE pattern were found among animal and human is olates, in addition to the isolates which were described previously (A. E. van den Bogaard, L. B. Jensen, and E. E. Stobberingh, N. Engl. J. Med. 337: 1558-1559, 1997), Detailed molecular characterization of vanA-containing tr ansposons from different isolates showed, that in addition to a previously reported strain, similar transposons were present in VRE isolates from turk eys and turkey farmers. Moreover, similar VanA elements were found not only in isolates with the same PFGE pattern but also in other strains from both humans and animals.