Prevalence of vanA Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci and Epidemiologic Survey of Chicken Farms Located in Seoul and Kyunggi Province.
- Author:
Sang Hee YI
1
;
Soon Duck KIM
;
Byung Chul CHUN
;
Juneyoung LEE
;
Mi Na KIM
Author Information
1. Graduate School of Public Health, College of Medicine, Korea University, Korea.
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
VRE;
Free-range chicken farms;
Cage-raising chicken farms;
vanA
- MeSH:
Agar;
Chickens*;
Colon;
Employment;
Enterococcus;
Feces;
Gyeonggi-do*;
Humans;
Hygiene;
Korea;
Livestock;
Microbial Sensitivity Tests;
Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction;
Prevalence*;
Seoul*;
Teicoplanin;
Vancomycin;
Vancomycin Resistance;
Surveys and Questionnaires
- From:Korean Journal of Nosocomial Infection Control
2007;12(2):77-84
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Avoparcin has been banned in Korea since 8 years ago, but vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) has not been proven to be eradicated from the domestic livestock. This study was purposed to investigate the prevalence of VRE and perform an epidemiologic survey in chicken farms located in Seoul and Kyunggi Province. METHODS: Feces were collected freshly from chickens and workers and their families in three free-range chicken farms and three cage-raising chicken farms. All swabs were inoculated on enterococcosel agar containing 6 microgram/mL of vancomycin. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of teicoplanin and vancomycin were determined using the agar dilution method. Vancomycin resistance were genotyped with multiplex PCR using primers specific for vanA, vanB, and vanC1. Epidemiolgic survey was carried out using a uniform questionnaire to obtain information about the number and variety of livestock, feeding protocols, physical farming conditions, maintenance protocols, hygiene, and employment conditions. RESULTS: vanA Enterococcus facium was isolated from 37 (2.9%) of 1280 chickens. There were no VRE carriers found among the workers and their families. The prevalence of VRE among cage-raising chickens was 4.8% compared to 0.6% for free-range chickens. The difference between the two groups was highly significant (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: There still was a significant rate of VRE colonization in chicken livestock in Seoul and Kyunggi Province. Physical farming conditions of cage-raising chicken farms seemed to be associated with a high VRE colonization rate.
