The investigation of vancomycin resistance in Enterococcus faecalis isolated from mild-moderate COVID-19 patients in Kirkuk city by PCR

The aim of this study is to collect data on antibiotic resistance genes found in vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) isolates obtained from hospitalized patients in Iraq during the COVID-19 outbreak. 104 people who were infected with the COVID-19 virus and were treated at the Al-Shifaa Epidemiology Hospital in Kirkuk participated in the study. These people consist of both sexes and various age groups. Nasopharyngeal swabs were taken from the patients. These samples were taken under medical supervision and molecular determination of VanA and VanB genes was performed by real-time PCR. Study results showed that most patients with severe COVID-19 infection are elderly (>57 years) and more than half of diabetic patients also suffer from COVID-19 infection. The study revealed that E. faecalis (39.74%) was the most isolated bacteria in the nasopharyngeal swab culture taken from most of the positive culture COVID-19 patients, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (21.79%) and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. In addition, most of the E. faecalis isolates were sensitive to Cephalothin, Imipenem, Ampicillin and Levofloxacin, while resistant to Carbenicillin, Clindamycin and Vancomycin. In addition, 64% of Vancomycin-resistant E. faecalis isolated from COVID-19 patients were found to be positive for the VanA gene (one of the genes responsible for vancomycin resistance) and 28% for the VanB gene.