High prevalence of ST-78 infection-associated vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium from hospitals in Asuncion, Paraguay

Forty infection-associated VanA-type vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) strains obtained from five collaborating hospitals in Asuncion, Paraguay were investigated. Genotyping using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing revealed the presence of 17 cluster types and four STs, with 93% (37/40) of isolates comprising ST type 78. Other ST types included ST-132, ST-210 and one new ST type (ST-438). All but one isolate (ST-438) were associated with clonal complex 17 (CC17), and 97% of the total isolates carried the esp gene. Three Tn1546 variants were found, including a new lineage containing an ISEfa5 insertion in an existing IS1251 element.