Antibacterial susceptibility patterns and characterization of clinical isolates of Elizabethkingia meningoseptica in Henan province, China

This study aimed to provide insight into antimicrobial susceptibility and homology of Elizabethkingia meningoseptica in a hospital environment. Samples from environmental surfaces and the hands of medical staff were screened for E. meningoseptica and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed; Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) was employed to subtype E. meningoseptica strains; The resistant genes were detected by PCR. In total, six isolates of E. meningoseptica were collected from 280 samples. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed that all of the six strains displayed multiresistance, showing resistance to more than three different classes of antibiotics. The strains were separated into five different PFGE patterns. The sulII gene was detected in four of the strains. Our data show that multiresistant E. meningoseptica strains exist in the hospital environment and susceptibility testing revealed that vancomycin was the most effective antibiotic. These results have practical significance for treatment of E. meningoseptica infection. © (2013) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland