Automated molecular detection of the vancomycin resistance genes vanA and vanB using the geneLEAD VIII platform

Rapid and accurate detection of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VREs) can aid in the early application of appropriate antimicrobial treatment and the implementation of infection prevention measures. The VIASURE real-time PCR assay (Certest Biotec) is a multiplex nucleic acid-based <i>in vitro</i> diagnostic test intended for the detection of <i>vanA</i> and <i>vanB</i>, and geneLEAD VIII (Precision System Science) is a customizable, fully automated molecular detection platform. We evaluated the performance of the VIASURE assay on the geneLEAD VIII platform against 200 clinical enterococcal isolates consisting of 151 VREs and 49 vancomycin-susceptible enterococci collected in Japan, primarily in the Kinki region, and compared it to that of the in-house reference multiplex PCR assay. The performance of the VIASURE assay for the detection of <i>vanA</i> and <i>vanB</i> was comparable to that of the reference multiplex PCR assay, with both a sensitivity and specificity of 100%. Compared with the reference PCR assay, the VIASURE assay reduced the turn-around time by ~3 h 40 min (5 h 34 min vs. 1 h 54 min) and the hands-on time by 46 min per four samples. Fully automated molecular detection of <i>vanA</i> and <i>vanB</i> using the VIASURE assay and geneLEAD VIII for bacterial isolates can enable fast and reliable testing while reducing labour and is a promising tool for clinical laboratories and nosocomial infection control.