Possible horizontal transfer of the vanB2 gene among genetically diverse strains of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium in a Korean hospital

A total of 25 isolates of vanB-containing Enterococcus faecium were recover ed from patients in a single Korean hospital over a 20-month period. There were two distinct vanB2 patterns among the 11 pulsed-field gel electrophore sis types; 17 contained the prototype vanB2 and 8 contained a novel vanB2 v vith a 177-bp deletion in vanY(B). Both vanB2 genes were transmissible in v itro at a mean frequency of 1.1 x 10(-8) transconjugants/donor. These resul ts suggest the horizontal spread of vanB2 is occurring among genetically di verse strains of E. faecium in Korean hospitals.