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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

A 1.5 Hour Procedure for Identification of Enterococcus Species Directly from Blood Cultures
05:02

A 1.5 Hour Procedure for Identification of Enterococcus Species Directly from Blood Cultures

Published on: February 10, 2011

IS element IS16 as a molecular screening tool to identify hospital-associated strains of Enterococcus faecium

Guido Werner1, Carola Fleige, Uta Geringer

  • 1Robert Koch Institute, Wernigerode Branch, Wernigerode, Germany. wernerg@rki.de

BMC Infectious Diseases
|April 2, 2011
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

A simple PCR assay using IS16 insertion element accurately identifies hospital-associated Enterococcus faecium strains. This method is superior to existing markers for distinguishing hospital strains from commensal and animal variants.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Hospital strains of Enterococcus faecium (E. faecium) are often characterized by MLST CC17.
  • Traditional typing methods (MLST, AFLP, MLVA) are laborious, time-consuming, and costly.
  • A need exists for a simple, inexpensive, and reliable PCR-based assay to identify hospital E. faecium.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and evaluate a PCR-based screening assay for identifying hospital E. faecium strains.
  • To differentiate hospital strains from colonizing, animal, and food-associated variants.
  • To assess the performance and predictive value of detecting the IS16 insertion element.

Main Methods:

  • Developed PCR primers to amplify a 547-bp fragment of the IS16 insertion element.
  • Screened 260 E. faecium isolates (hospital, animal, human commensal) for IS16 presence.
  • Compared IS16 distribution with esp and hylEfm markers; utilized MLST and PFGE for typing; performed Southern hybridization for IS16 localization.

Main Results:

  • IS16 was exclusively found in 155 hospital-associated strains (CC17) with diverse vancomycin resistance genotypes.
  • IS16 was absent in most livestock, food-associated, and human commensal strains (non-CC17).
  • The IS16 PCR assay demonstrated 100% accuracy in predicting hospital-associated strains, outperforming esp (66%) and hylEfm (46%) screening.

Conclusions:

  • A simple PCR assay for IS16 effectively differentiates hospital-associated E. faecium from other origins.
  • This assay allows prediction of epidemic potential or pathogenicity in nosocomial settings.
  • IS16 is a reliable marker for identifying hospital-associated E. faecium strains.

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