Enterococci are ubiquitous bacteria present in the environment and in the gastrointestinal tract of healthy animals and humans and may be present in soil, surface waters on plants and vegetables and also they can occur in foods, especially in those of animal origin such as meat, fermented sausages and cheeses. The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of virulence determinants and vancomycin- resistant genes among Enterococcus faecal is and Enterococcus faecium obtained from various clinical sources. The study was performed on the 200samples collected from dairy food and meat in Hamden. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using disk diffusion methods. The presence of vancomycin-resistant genes and virulence genes was investigated using PCR. Of 135 enterococcal isolates, (48.1%) were identified as E. faecalis, (43.7%) as E. faecium, E. avioum (6.6%) and E. gallinarom (1.5%). The results of antibiotic susceptibility testing showed that of the total 135 isolates, 100 (74.1%) were resistance to tetracycline. Lower antibiotic resistance was seen with Nitrofurantoin 2 (1.5%). None of the isolates was found to be resistant to Teicoplanin. Prevalence of esp, hyl, and asa1 genes were reported 48.9%, 20%, and 89.6, respectively in Enterococcus strains. Totally, van genes were identified in 70 (51.6%) Enterococcus strains. This study indicates a high prevalence of multidrug resistance among enterococci isolated from meat and milk products that may serve as a vehicle to transport these resistant bacteria and genes from food to humans and become a serious threat to public health in the future.
