Affiliations: Department of Bacteriology-Mycology, Tropical Medicine
Institute "Pedro Kourí", Havana, Cuba | Service of Microbiology, Pediatric Hospital "Octavio
de la Concepción y la Pedraja", Holguín, Cuba | Department of Hygiene, Sapporo Medical University
School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan | Service of Microbiology, University Hospital
Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain
Note: [] Correspondence: Dianelys Quiñones, MD, MSc, Tropical
Medicine Institute, "Pedro Kourí", La Lisa, CP: 11300, Havana, Cuba.
E-mail: diany.quinones@infomed.sld.cu; dia@ipk.sld.cu
Abstract: Genetic relationships and the antibiotic resistance determinants
were studied for a total of 55 Enterococcus faecalis isolates recovered from
children in a pediatric hospital in Cuba between January 2001 and December
2004. These isolates were analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and
presence of some resistance genes to aminoglycosides, macrolides and
tetracycline were examined by polymerase chain reaction. A total of 17
pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns were identified among 54 different
patterns of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Particular multi-resistant E.
faecalis clones were detected in different wards from the pediatric hospital.
The aac(6')-aph(2")} and aph(3') genes was detected in all the isolates with
high-level resistance to gentamicin and amikacin, respectively, whereas the
ant(6) gene was detected in the 75% of isolates showing high-level resistance
to streptomycin. The erm(B) gene was found in 72% of the erythromycin-resistant
strains, and tet(M) was detected in all tetracycline resistant strains. The
circulation of particular clones exhibiting antibiotic resistance in the
pediatric hospital and the dissemination of drug-resistance genes among these
strains indicated the need for the monitoring of antibiotic susceptibility to
prevent the selection or dispersion of resistant strains in this hospital.
