Since the first report of a vancomycin-resistant enterococcal clinical isolate, these Gram-positive bacteria have emerged as important nosocomial pathogens.
Several glycopeptide resistance phenotypes can be distinguished on the basis of the level and inducibility of resistance to vancomycin and teicoplanin. In the present study, we developed a multiplex PCR, which allows the simultaneous identification of enterococci at the genus level and detection of the most frequent glycopeptide resistance genotypes.