Preprint Communication Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Prevalence of Enterococci and Vancomycin Resistance in the Throat of Non-Hospitalized Individuals Randomly Selected in Central Italy

Annalisa Palmieri
,
Marcella Martinelli
* ORCID logo ,
Agnese Pellati
,
Francesco Carinci
,
Dorina Lauritano
ORCID logo ,
Claudio Arcuri
,
Luigi Baggi
,
Roberto Gatto
,
Luca Scapoli
ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 23 May 2023 / Approved: 25 May 2023 / Online: 25 May 2023 (04:29:13 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Palmieri, A.; Martinelli, M.; Pellati, A.; Carinci, F.; Lauritano, D.; Arcuri, C.; Baggi, L.; Gatto, R.; Scapoli, L. Prevalence of Enterococci and Vancomycin Resistance in the Throat of Non-Hospitalized Individuals Randomly Selected in Central Italy. Antibiotics 2023, 12, 1161. Palmieri, A.; Martinelli, M.; Pellati, A.; Carinci, F.; Lauritano, D.; Arcuri, C.; Baggi, L.; Gatto, R.; Scapoli, L. Prevalence of Enterococci and Vancomycin Resistance in the Throat of Non-Hospitalized Individuals Randomly Selected in Central Italy. Antibiotics 2023, 12, 1161.

Abstract

Enterococci are commonly found in the environment and humans as a part of the normal micro-biota Among these, Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium can convert into opportunistic pathogens, making them a major cause of nosocomial infections. The rapid diffusion of vanco-mycin-resistant strains and their impact on nosocomial settings is of considerable concern. Ap-proximately one-third of the E. faecium infections in Italy are caused by vancomycin-resistant strains. This study explored the hypothesis that the oral cavity could represent a silent reservoir of virulent enterococci. A sample of 862 oral flora specimens collected from healthy human volun-teers in Central Italy was investigated by real-time PCR to detect E. faecalis and E. faecium, as well as the genetic elements that most frequently determine vancomycin resistance. The prevalence of E. faecalis was 19%, a value that was not associated with alcohol consumption, tobacco smoking, or age of the subjects. Less frequently detected, with an overall prevalence of 0.7%, the E. faecium was more common among people older than 49 years of age. The genes conferring vancomycin resistance were detected in only one sample. Results indicate that the oral cavity can be considered a reservoir of clinically relevant enterococci; however, our data suggest that healthy individuals rarely carry vancomycin-resistant strains.

Keywords

Enterococcus faecalis; Enterococcus faecium; vancomycin; prevalence; resistance; antibiotics; oral cavity; screening

Subject

Public Health and Healthcare, Public Health and Health Services

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Download PDF

Comments (0)

We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.

Leave a public comment
Send a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
Views 0
Downloads 0
Comments 0
Metrics 0
Get PDF Cite Share 0
Bookmark BibSonomy Mendeley Reddit Delicious
×
Alerts
Notify me about updates to this article or when a peer-reviewed version is published.
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here.