Figure 1: SmaI macrorestriction analysis in PFGE of 26 VRE isolates representing individual clusters of infections and colonisations in patients from 22 hospitals collected between 1996 and 1999 in Germany. The origin of the hospital isolates is given as a hospital within a federal state. The dotted line represents the 82% similarity score suggested by Morrison et al. for determining clonal relatedness [23]. Legend: BAL, Broncho Alveolar Lavage; Hosp, hospital; L. Saxony; Lower Saxony; MV, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania; n.d., not determined; NRW, North-Rhine Westphalia; year, year of isolation. Isolate UW1823 may have lost vanA resistance since it was negative in repeated PCR reactions.