Near-ubiquitous presence of a vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium ST117/CT71/vanB –clone in the Rhine-Main metropolitan area of Germany

Abstract

Whole-genome sequencing analysis of Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium isolates from the Frankfurt metropolitan region revealed that 78/94 isolates were MLST type ST117, cgMLST complex type CT71 with a common vanB chromosomal insertion site. This indicates circulation of a single VRE clone in a catchment area of 5,000-km2 with 3 million inhabitants.