U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Food and Feed Safety Research: College Station, TX
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    CareersSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Plains Area College Station, Texas Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center Food and Feed Safety Research Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            Beier, Rossitem
                                            Duke, Saraitem
                                            Ziprin, Richarditem
                                            Harvey, Rogeritem
                                            Hume, Michaelitem
                                            Poole, Toniitem
                                            SCOTT, H - TX A&M UNIVitem
                                            HIGHFIELD, LINDA - TX A&M UNIVitem
                                            ALALI, WALID - TX A&M UNIVitem
                                            Andrews, Kathleen

                                                         - *Kate*item
                                            Anderson, Robinitem
                                            Nisbet, David
  Submitted to: Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 12/18/2007
                                    Publication  Date: 3/14/2008
                                    Citation: Beier, R.C., Duke, S.E., Ziprin, R.L., Harvey, R.B., Hume, M.E., Poole, T.L., Scott, H.M., Highfield, L.D., Alali, W.Q., Andrews, K., Anderson, R.C., Nisbet, D.J. 2008. Antibiotic and disinfectant susceptibility profiles of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) isolated from community wastewater in Texas. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. 80(3):188-194.Interpretive Summary: Many different kinds of disinfectants are in common use on farms, in food processing plants, and in hospitals.  In each of these places there is also widespread use of a variety of antibiotics.  Little is known about the impact of disinfectant use on the spread of antibiotic resistance.  Certain bacteria named VREs are a major health hazard for hospitalized patients.  Hospitals are environments in which both disinfectants and antibiotics are heavily utilized.  We found that many VREs isolated from wastewater are resistant to disinfectants and to antibiotics.  This double resistance is probably due to certain pieces of genetic material present in VREs.  This information is important to understanding the way antibiotic resistant bacteria are spread through our environment and our finding has practical application in hospital infection control programs.
                                Technical Abstract: Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) previously isolated from human wastewater effluents in a nonclinical semiclosed agri-food system in Texas were characterized for susceptibility to antibiotics and disinfectants.  The 50 VRE were resistant to eight fluoroquinolones and to 10 of 17 National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) 2005 Gram-positive antibiotics.  The VRE were only susceptible to quinupristin/dalfopristin and linezolid.  Lack of the genomic fragment IS1251 correlated with VRE susceptibility to streptomycin and gentamicin at P < 0.0001 and P = 0.033, respectively.  An association was observed between pulsed-field gel electrophoresis type 3 and type 4 and susceptibility to streptomycin at P = 0.0006.  VRE susceptibility for nine disinfectants and five disinfectant components is shown.  Ninety-two percent of the isolates had a susceptibility to triclosan at greater than or equal to 2 ppm.  Triclosan minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for many of the VRE were well over expected product application levels.   No cross-resistance or co-resistance was observed between antibiotic resistance and disinfectant susceptibility in these VRE.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov