AWWA PATH56538

The objective of this paper was to study the population structure of enterococci (including vancomycin resistant strains) in four European Union states. Samples of human faeces, wastewater, pig faeces, manure, slaughterhouse carcasses, surface water, soil and crops from Sweden, Denmark, the UK and Spain were tested for the presence of enterococci and vancomycin-resistant enterococci. E.faecium, E.faecalis, and E.hirae were the most common species. Over eight percent of samples exhibited growth of enterococci in the presence of 20 mg/l of vancomycin (PEV20). They were common in urban wastewater, hospital wastewater and in pig manure but less common in samples from slaughterhouses and farmland. Ten percent of the PEV20 were resistant to all antibiotics tested (mainly human origin). The data suggests that there are currently two different populations of VRE in Europe. One is associated with animal production. Another is possibly derived from antibiotic use in hospitals or the community and is spreading to the environment via wastewater, but is still uncommon in animals.