Prevalence of the ermB Gene in Clostridium difficile Strains Isolated at a University Teaching Hospital from 1987 through 1998

• Published in: Clinical infectious diseases Vol. 40; no. 10; pp. 1537 - 1540
• Main Authors: Tang-Feldman, Yajarayma J., Henderson, Jeffrey P., Ackermann, Grit, Feldman, Stephanie S., Bedley, Maxwell, Silva, Joseph, Cohen, Stuart H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL The University of Chicago Press 15.05.2005; University of Chicago Press; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibacterial agents; Antibiotics; Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents; Bacterial Proteins; Bacterial Toxins; Biological and medical sciences; Brief Reports; Clindamycin - pharmacology; Clostridium difficile; Clostridium difficile - classification; Clostridium difficile - drug effects; Clostridium difficile - genetics; Clostridium difficile - isolation & purification; Diarrhea; Diarrhea - microbiology; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Enterotoxins; Erythromycin - pharmacology; Etiology; Gels; Genes; Genotype; Hospitals, University; Humans; Immune system diseases; Medical sciences; Methyltransferases - genetics; Pathogens; Pathology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Phenotype; Polymerase chain reaction; Product category rules; Resistance mechanisms; Time Factors; Toxins; Teaching hospital; Prevalence; Clostridium difficile; Clostridiales; Diarrhea; Identification; Erythromycin; Epidemiology; Macrolide; Resistance; Antibiotic; Gene; Clostridiaceae; Digestive diseases; Bacteria; Intestinal disease; Antibacterial agent; Aminoacid sequence
• ISSN: 1058-4838; 1537-6591
• DOI: 10.1086/428835

We analyzed 226 strains of Clostridium difficile for the presence of erythromycin ribosomal methylase B (ermB) genes. Forty-four strains (19.4%) carried ermB genes and were resistant to erythromycin. Toxin A and toxin B gene sequences were identified in 81.9% of these 44 strains. Strains of C. difficile that carry ermB genes are common etiologic agents of C. difficile-associated diarrhea.