The effects of ultraviolet disinfection on vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis

Abstract

The emergence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) in water is threatening the health of human beings. The effect of ultraviolet disinfection on vancomycin-resistant E. faecalis, including the effectiveness, photoreactivation and dark repair of E. faecalis, and the deactivation mechanism were investigated in this work. Ultraviolet disinfection could quickly inactivate the target antibiotic resistant bacterium (ARB), E. faecalis, and it caused damage to the cell membrane and induced the decrease of the total adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content and the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity significantly (p < 0.05). E. faecalis could reactivate after ultraviolet disinfection especially under light conditions. Furthermore, the removal of the selected antibiotic resistance gene (ARG), vanB, by ultraviolet radiation and the effect on the vancomycin resistance of E. faecalis were investigated, which showed that ultraviolet disinfection had no significant effect on the vancomycin resistance of E. faecalis (p > 0.05).