Erythromycin, a macrolide antibiotic, is used for the treatment of diseases caused by gram-positive bacteria. Resistance to macrolides, lincosamides, and streptogramin B in many isolates is due to erm genes encoding RNA methylases. However, the detection of erm(A) in Enterococcus faecalis has not been reported to date. In this study, a total of 296 E. faecalis strains isolated from animals (n=147) and humans (n=149) were screened for the presence of the erm(A) gene by PCR. Two isolates of animal origin and two isolates of human origin showed bands of the expected molecular sizes upon gel electrophoresis. The nucleotide sequences of the amplicons were 100% identical to a section of the Staphylococcus aureus transposon Tn554, which harbors the erm(A) gene. These findings indicate a horizontal gene transfer of this mobile DNA element to E. faecalis—however, to prove this thesis, further molecular biological investigations are required. To our knowledge, the present study is the first report demonstrating the presence of the erm(A) gene in E. faecalis. Since enterococci are third among the bacterial pathogens most frequently associated with nosocomial infections, after staphylococci and Escherichia coli, consequent limited treatment options are a cause for concern.