The Essential Hospital Handbook by Patrick Conlon

Author:Patrick Conlon [Conlon, Patrick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-300-15547-1
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2009-03-08T16:00:00+00:00

Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus (VRE)

Two species of Enterococcus commonly live in the intestines, but they are usually benign. Enterococcus infections can occur in the urinary tract, in the blood, and in wounds, including surgical wounds. Although these infections can usually be treated with antibiotics like ampicillin and vancomycin, a strain of bacteria that are resistant to both was discovered in France in 1986. Similar strains can now be found all over the world.

VRE is thought to be passed to people through contact with animals or by eating meat. Once the meat is eaten, the bacteria sit dormant in the person’s gut until they come into contact with an antibiotic. At that point the VRE can spread to the rest of the body. And since many patients in hospitals are put on some kind of antibiotic therapy during the course of their treatment, VRE infections often occur in hospitals.

VRE is highly resistant to almost all available antibiotics. It is also hardy and has been known to survive for weeks on hospital-room surfaces that cleaning staff might have missed.

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