LETTERS Vancomycin- Resistant

• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Barrow; Point Barrow; Tundra; Alaska; Beringia
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.306.7321; http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/15/5/pdfs/08-1219.pdf

number of bacterial infections are now difficult or impossible to treat (1) because of the misuse of antimicrobial drugs and the epidemic spread of bacterial resistance to these drugs (2). The most alarming reports are of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, extended-spectrum β-lactamase producers, and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). Although knowledge about dissemination mechanisms is poor, the spread of resistance clearly is not restricted to hospitals but occurs also in the community and in the natural environment (3,4). Since the 1990s, the epidemiology in the United States has shifted so that most VRE are Enterococcus faecium. Recent studies indicate clonal spread of the E. faecium CC17 lineage in clinical isolates, exhibiting high-level ampicillin and fluoroquinolone resistance and harboring an enterococcal surface protein–coding esp gene (5,6). During a polar research expedition to the Beringia region in 2005, we collected fecal samples from birds at sites with no or low human population. The aim was to investigate the current status of resistance dissemination into remote areas of the world. The study site in Alaska was located on the tundra halfway between the city of Barrow and Point Barrow, the northernmost point of the United