{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T18:08:09Z","timestamp":1792001289257,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,8]],"date-time":"2024-01-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1704672000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":7,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["International Journal of Microbiology"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p><jats:italic>Background<\/jats:italic>. Vancomycin\u2010resistant <jats:italic>Enterococci<\/jats:italic> (VRE) is a global health problem and responsible for healthcare\u2010associated infections (HAIs) in patients with prolonged hospital stay, severe underlying disease, and previous broad\u2010spectrum antibiotic therapy. These bacteria can cross\u2010resist and transfer drug\u2010resistant genes to other potentially pathogenic bacteria. Therefore; this study was aimed to determine the gastrointestinal colonization rate of VRE, its antimicrobial susceptibility profile, and associated factors among hospitalized patients. <jats:italic>Methods<\/jats:italic>. Prospective cross\u2010sectional study was conducted using stool samples from 223 patients admitted to different wards at Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, from April 1 to June 30, 2021. Patients admitted to the hospital for more than 48\u2009hours for various medical conditions were included. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were collected using a structured questionnaire. Fecal specimens were cultured on <jats:italic>Enterococci<\/jats:italic> selective media. <jats:italic>Enterococcus<\/jats:italic> species were identified using their growth and mannitol fermentation properties. Vancomycin resistance was screened using both the Kirby\u2013Bauer disk diffusion method and a vancomycin <jats:italic>E<\/jats:italic>\u2010test strip. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Descriptive and logistic regressions were used to determine the frequency and association of factors with the VRE colonization rate. A <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> value of &lt;0.05 was considered statistically significant. <jats:italic>Results<\/jats:italic>. A total of 223 fecal specimens were collected and processed, and 141 (63.2%) them were positive for <jats:italic>Enterococci<\/jats:italic>. The predominant species was <jats:italic>E. faecalis<\/jats:italic> 65 (46.1%) followed by <jats:italic>E. faecium<\/jats:italic> 76 (53.9%). In this study, the gastrointestinal colonization rate of VRE was 15 (6.7%) and all the species belong to <jats:italic>E<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>faecium<\/jats:italic>. Study participants who had no formal education (AOR\u2009=\u20094.26, 95% CI: 1.01, 18.06), hospitalized patients for &gt;2\u2009weeks (AOR\u2009=\u20094.10, 95% CI: 1.08, 15.57), and those who had a history of treatment with vancomycin (AOR\u2009=\u20094.77, 95% CI: 1.26, 18.09) were more likely to be colonized with vancomycin\u2010resistant <jats:italic>Enterococci<\/jats:italic>. More than 95% of <jats:italic>Enterococci<\/jats:italic> isolates were susceptible to linezolid, whereas 70.2%, 63.1%, 56.7%, and 53.9% were resistant to tetracycline, erythromycin, penicillin, and ampicillin, respectively. Among the total <jats:italic>Enterococci<\/jats:italic> isolated, 141 (54.6%) were multidrug resistant. <jats:italic>Conclusions<\/jats:italic>. In our study, high proportion of vancomycin\u2010resistant <jats:italic>Enterococci<\/jats:italic> was found. Previous exposure to antibiotics and hospital stay were significant factors for VRE gut colonization. The isolated <jats:italic>Enterococci<\/jats:italic> showed variable degrees of resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics which leads to a worldwide problem multidrug resistance. Therefore, periodic surveillance on antimicrobial resistance pattern, adhering to rational use of antibiotics, and implementing infection prevention protocols may reduce colonization by VRE.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1155\/2024\/6430026","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,8]],"date-time":"2024-01-08T13:05:05Z","timestamp":1704719105000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["High Gastrointestinal Colonization Rate of Vancomycin\u2010Resistant <i>Enterococci<\/i> among Hospitalized Patients: Potential Source for Resistant Gene"],"prefix":"10.1155","volume":"2024","author":[{"given":"Techilo Habtemariam","family":"Mengesha","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7786-3400","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Musa Mohammed","family":"Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0638-8889","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mulugeta","family":"Mengistu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3914-838X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Demissie","family":"Assegu Fenta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_13_1_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1155\/2014\/623174"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/antibiotics9090565"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0251727"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2147\/idr.s191881"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_5_2","first-page":"50","article-title":"Vancomycin-resistant enterococci","volume":"24","author":"Cetinkaya Y.","year":"2018","journal-title":"Klinick\u00e1 Mikrobiologie a Infekcn\u00ed L\u00e9karstv\u00ed"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12879-020-4833-2"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_7_2","volume-title":"WHO Pathogens Priority List Working Group","author":"Tacconelli E.","year":"2012"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1590\/s1517-838246320140403"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_9_2","first-page":"277","article-title":"The antibiotic resistance crisis: part 1: causes and threats","volume":"40","author":"Ventola C. 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