Automated molecular detection of the vancomycin resistance genes vanA and vanB using the geneLEAD VIII platform

Rapid and accurate detection of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VREs) can aid in the early application of appropriate antimicrobial treatment and the implementation of infection prevention measures. The VIASURE real-time PCR assay (Certest Biotec) is a multiplex nucleic acid-based in vitro diagnostic test intended for the detection of vanA and vanB, and geneLEAD VIII (Precision System Science) is a customizable, fully automated molecular detection platform. We evaluated the performance of the VIASURE assay on the geneLEAD VIII platform against 200 clinical enterococcal isolates consisting of 151 VREs and 49 vancomycin-susceptible enterococci collected in Japan, primarily in the Kinki region, and compared it to that of the in-house reference multiplex PCR assay. The performance of the VIASURE assay for the detection of vanA and vanB was comparable to that of the reference multiplex PCR assay, with both a sensitivity and specificity of 100%. Compared with the reference PCR assay, the VIASURE assay reduced the turn-around time by ~3 h 40 min (5 h 34 min vs. 1 h 54 min) and the hands-on time by 46 min per four samples. Fully automated molecular detection of vanA and vanB using the VIASURE assay and geneLEAD VIII for bacterial isolates can enable fast and reliable testing while reducing labour and is a promising tool for clinical laboratories and nosocomial infection control.