Background: Enterococcus faecalis is one of the main causes of nosocomial infections. The clinical importance of
E. faecalis is related to its antibiotic resistance because it is intrinsic resistance. Vancomycin-resistant E. faecalis (VRE)
acquired the vancomycin (VA) resistance by a plasmid that permits the sensitive bacteria to become resistant and has the
ability to transfer this resistance to other unrelated bacteria. Materials and Methods: During the period of 3 months from
1st March to 31st May 2019, a total of 50 swabs were collected from patients with burn infections from patients in Al-Hilla
General Teaching Hospital, Al-Hilla City, Babylon, Iraq. The swabs were cultured on selective and differential media and
incubated aerobically at 37°C for 24–48 h. Using VITEK 2 system was used for more confirmative diagnosis. Results: All
samples yielded bacterial growth 100%. A total of 71 bacterial isolates were identified. Morphological and biochemical
characterization of bacterial cultures revealed that 14/71 (19.7%) of total isolates were E. faecalis. The disc diffusion method
was used for antibacterial susceptibility test against 22 antibiotics. Among 14 isolates of E. faecalis, only 5 isolates (35.7%)
have resistance against VA. Conclusion: The emergence of VRE became a great challenge with serious complications of the
control policy for nosocomial infections in our hospitals.
أ.د. أمل طالب عطيه السعدي | Prof. Dr. Amal Talib Atiyah Al Sa'ady | 7218