Isolation of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium from Italian cheeses

Several industrial and artisan Italian cheeses were screened for the presen ce of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) One hundred and two strains, m ostly belonging to the species Enterococcus faecium after species-specific PCR identification, were tested for antibiotic susceptibility by standard d isc diffusion method and for resistance to vancomycin in liquid medium. Abo ut 25% of strains were resistant to both vancomycin and teicoplanin. PCR ex periments showed that ail resistant isolates harboured the vanA gene. Minim um inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of vancomycin for most of the vanc omycin resistant E. faecium (VREF) ranged from 128 to 512 mug ml(-1) (high level resistance). PCR fingerprinting of VREF indicated that multiple isola tion of the same strains did not occur The importance of finding VRE in che eses is discussed. O 2000 Academic Press.