New study reveals that Ireland has the highest prevalence of the multiple-antibiotic resistance genes optrA and poxtA in hospital enterococci

Microbiologists from the Dublin Dental University Hospital Microbiology Unit at Trinity College in collaboration with colleagues at the National MRSA Reference Laboratory at St. James’s Hospital Dublin have found that Ireland has the highest prevalence of the multiple antibiotic resistance genes optrA and poxtA among linezolid-resistant isolates of the bacterial species Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis. Linezolid is an antibiotic used to treat infections by antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive bacteria. The researchers used whole-genome sequencing to identify optrA and poxtA in hospital isolates of E. faecium and E. faecalis and showed that these genes could be readily transferred to antibiotic susceptible isolates on large transferable genetic elements called plasmids. The research has just been published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. For the full article please see the link below:

Linezolid resistance in Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis from hospitalized patients in Ireland: high prevalence of the MDR genes optrA and poxtA in isolates with diverse genetic backgrounds.

https://academic.oup.com/jac/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jac/dkaa075/5780432