Enterococcus faecium
Digitally colorized scanning electron microscopic (SEM) of Enterococcus faecium bacteria. Copyright holder: Janice Haney Carr. Link: https://phil.cdc.gov/Details.aspx?pid=12802.
Vancomycin-resistant E. faecium is a growing concern for public health. The bacteria can colonize human guts without causing disease, still an estimated 1300 people die from E. faecium infections each year in the US alone. Commonly spread in hospitals, E. faecium pass from person to person through human interactions or via contaminated surfaces. In particular the immunocompromised patients are at risk. By screening patients and caregivers for VRE colonization, transmission can be reduced by taking measurements for infection control.
1928 offers the following analyses of E. faecium:
- MLST (Multilocus sequence typing).
- cgMLST (core genome MLST), typing with finer resolution than traditional MLST with our own schema built from 1315 genes.
- Genotypic prediction of resistance genes.
- SNP analysis for higher resolution of outbreaks.
- Virulence factors such as cytolysins, hemolysins and gelatinase.