Characterizing vancomycin-resistant enterococci in neonatal intensive care.

Repetitive sequence-based polymerase chain reaction fingerprinting was used to characterize 23 vancomycin-nonsusceptible enterococcal isolates from 2003 to 2004. Five genetically related clusters spanned geographically distinct referring centers. DNA fingerprinting showed infant-to-infant transmission from referring institutions. Thus, community healthcare facilities are a source of vancomycin-nonsusceptible enterococci and should be targeted for increased infection control efforts.