Antibiogram of Enterococci Species and Association of Van A/B Genes Frequencies in Clinical Samples Isolated from Patients in Kurdistan Region Hospitals, Iraq

Abstract Background: Enterococci have over time become responsible for various infections such as endocarditis, bacteremia, and urinary tract infections. Objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the species, antibiogram, and vanA/vanB gene frequencies in Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium isolated from patients at Hospitals in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Materials and Methods: Samples of urine, HVS, blood, wound swab, semen, and bronchial wash were collected from the patients. Species-level confirmation and susceptibility testing were determined manually and by VITEK-2 Automated System, while vanA/vanB gene carriage was done by polymerase chain reaction. Results: A total of 116 Enterococcus isolates were identified from the patient’s clinical specimens. Among these, 77 (66.4%) were E. faecalis , 26 (22.4%) were E. faecium , and 13 (11.2%) were other Enterococcus spp. Regardless of species identified, 100% were resistant to tetracycline and the resistant percentages for erythromycin were 86.2%, ampicillin 84.5%, gentamycin 81.9%, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole 68.9%, ciprofloxacin 68.1%, levofloxacin 53.4%, penicillin 41.3%, meropenem 31.9%, nitrofurantoin 30.1%, vancomycin 27.6%, teicoplanin 14.6% and a low resistant rate for fosfomycin 4.3%, for tigecycline 4.3% and for linezolid 3.4%. The percentage of multidrug resistance (MDR) in both E. faecalis and E. faecium was 100%. Out of 77 E. faecalis isolates, 10 (12.98%) contained vanA gene, but vanB gene was not detected. Conclusion: Multidrug-resistant enterococci is a potential alert in the community and healthcare facilities in the Kurdistan region and more research we need for antibiotics resistant on larger sample size.