Whole Genome Sequencing of Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus Faecium Isolated from Saudi Arabia

Mushtaq Ahmad Khan¹, Fauwaz Al-Rashid², Mamdoh Meqdam¹, Hisham Al-Ajlan³ and Mohammed Al-Mogbel¹

¹Molecular Diagnostic and Personalized Therapeutic Unit, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Ha’il, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

²King Khalid Hospital, Ha’il, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

³Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Corresponding Author E-mail: drmushtaqkhan9@gmail.com

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.13005/bbra/2687

ABSTRACT: Enterococcus faecium are one of the most prevalent species cultured from humans and they have become increasingly common cause of infections in the hospital settings globally. The objective of current study was to characterize 26 E. faecium isolates collected from different patients attending Maternity Hospital in Ha’il, Saudi Arabia. The bacterial isolates were identified by MALDI-TOF-MS and the antibiotic susceptibility was performed by Microscan. Whole genome sequencing of a single vancomycin resistant E. faecium (VRE) was performed using MiSeq. The results of antimicrobial susceptibility revealed that, 99%, 90%, 83% and 73% of isolates were resistant to Clindamycin, Gentamicin, Oxacillin and Tetracycline respectively. One (3%) among 26 E. faecium isolates was found to produce resistance to vancomycin. The WGS analysis of VRE showed that it belonged to ST280 and was found to harbor vanB gene cassette. This is the first report of VRE from the Ha’il region of Saudi Arabia. VRE may act as a reservoir for multidrug resistant genes and other important virulence factors that favor the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, the surveillance studies to prevent dissemination of VRE shall be implemented in the healthcare facilities all across Saudi Arabia.

KEYWORDS: Multi-Drug Resistant; VanB; Virulence; VRE; Whole Genome Sequencing

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