Early identification of the nosocomial spread of vancomycin-resistant <i>Enterococcus faecium</i> by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and performance comparison with PFGE and WGS.

ABSTRACT: Early detection of disseminating vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) in ICU wards is crucial for outbreak identification and the implementation of prompt infection control measures. Genotypic methods like pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) are costly and time-consuming, hindering rapid response due to batch dependency. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) offers the potential for real-time outbreak detection and reliable strain typing. We utilized FT-IR to identify clonal VREfm dissemination and compared its performance to PFGE and WGS. Between February through October 2023, an unusually high number of VREfm were recovered at a tertiary hospital in Barcelona. Isolates were examined for antimicrobial susceptibility, carr

SUBMITTER: Pitart C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11346335 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature