Dramatic increase in vancomycin-resistant enterococci in Germany

Abstract

The high overall VRE proportion in Germany is mainly due to the situation in four states. There is an urgent need to analyse the epidemiology of VRE in detail to develop appropriate infection control strategies.

Rates of blood cultures positive for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus in Ontario: a quasi-experimental study

“…1 Since its emergence in the 1980s, 2,3 rates of colonization and infection with this microorganism have risen dramatically in hospitals worldwide. [4][5][6][7][8] Patients with bacteremia due to VRE are thought to have worse outcomes than patients with vancomycinsusceptible enterococcal bacteremia, including increased mortality and length of hospital stay. 9 Preventing nosocomial VRE infections is therefore a patient safety priority in many jurisdictions.…”

Bacterial sepsis

“…MDR gram-positive pathogens, such as vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) or methicillin-resistant staphylococci (MRSA), represent another problematic collective. Whereas the proportion of asymptomatic VRE carriers and VRE infections continues to rise [30,34], the clinical relevance of MRSA as the trigger for sepsis has decreased in recent years [30].…”

“…Gram-positive "problem" pathogens such as MRSA have shown stable resistance types for some time now (as well as a constant incidence of infections), and are generally susceptible to vancomycin, teicoplanin, tigecycline, and linezolid. While the incidence of VRE is clearly increasing [34], an increase in linezolid-resistant enterococci has also been registered [135]. Increasing VRE incidences are thus likely to represent a problem in the future.…”

Linezolid use in Medicin Therapy against Multiresistant Bacteria-A Review

“…The concern is focused on the emergence of microorganisms with intermediate resistance to vancomycin, as this is one of the treatments of choice for MRSA [38,39].…”