A comparison of enterococcal genotypes from the human mouth and cheese

Abstract

Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of enterococci in saliva, from within infected root treated teeth, and in British‐produced cheeses. An additional aim was to determine if similar enterococcal genotypes were found within these three groups.Methodology Seventy four samples were collected from the three groups and cultured on Chromocult® enterococci agar. The cultured bacteria were then identified using the Rapid ID 32 Strep kit (bioMerieux). DNA was then extracted from the enterococcal isolates, and genotyping performed by means of repetitive extragenic palindromic (REP) PCR with REP1R‐DT and REP‐2DT primers. Strains were assigned to clonal types by means of the GelCompar software analysis of REP‐PCR profiles.Results Enterococci were isolated from 8 of 50 saliva samples, and from 4 of 15 root canal samples, and from seven of nine cheese samples. Sixteen isolates were identified as E. faecalis, one isolate was identified as E. faecium, one isolate was identified as E. durans, and one isolate identified as E. avium. REP‐PCR revealed nine clonal types within E. faecalis. The same clonal types were found in samples from saliva, from the root canal, and from British‐produced cheeses.Conclusions The prevalence of enterococci in the oral cavity was found to be 12%. The prevalence in the infected previously treated root canal was 27%. Enterococci was isolated from seven out of nine British cheeses investigated. The same clonal types of E. faecalis were recovered from saliva, from in the previously treated infected root canal and from British‐produced cheese's. It would be of interest to investigate the prevalence of E. faecalis in the oral cavity from people that do not eat cheese due to the fact of medical reasons or through choice, to see if there is any difference in the prevalence found.