Epidemiological profiles and pathogenicity of Vancomycin-resistant clinical isolates in Taiwan.

The emerging Vancomycin-resistant (VRE-fm) is an opportunistic pathogen causing nosocomial infections. The identification of VRE-fm is important for successful prevention and control in healthcare settings. VRE-fm clinical isolates obtained from regional hospitals in northern Taiwan were characterized for antimicrobial susceptibility, virulence genes and biofilm production. Most isolates exhibited multi-drug resistance and carried the virulence genes, and . While all isolates produce biofilms, those isolates that carried exhibited greater biofilm production. Isolates with different virulence gene carriages were examined for pathogenicity by using a nematode model, , for determining microbial-host interactions. The survival assay showed that was susceptible to Linezolid-resistant VRE-fm isolates with . Combining the molecular epidemiological profiles regarding pathogenesis in can serve as a guide for physicians in limiting opportunistic infections caused by VRE-fm.