Review
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Emily Smout, Navaneethan Palanisamy, Sabeel P. Valappil
Summary: VRE infections have been recurrently reported in different parts of India in the last two decades. However, there is limited up-to-date information concerning the prevalence and rate of VRE in India. This study aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of VRE in India.
ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE AND INFECTION CONTROL
(2023)
Article
Biophysics
Fang Zhang, Qixian Li, Jingru Zhu, Xinyue Liu, Juan Ding, Jie Sun, Yang Liu, Tingting Jiang
Summary: Researchers successfully developed a new type of vancomycin-modified carbon nanodots (CNDs@Van) with pH-responsive surface charge switchable activity. The polymeric vancomycin was formed on the surface of CNDs by covalent modification, enhancing the targeted binding of CNDs@Van to vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) biofilms and achieving pH-responsive surface charge switching. CNDs@Van was free at pH 7.4 but assembled at pH 5.5, resulting in enhanced near-infrared (NIR) absorption and photothermal properties.
COLLOIDS AND SURFACES B-BIOINTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Biology
Kristyna Hricova, Magdalena Roderova, Petr Frycak, Volodymyr Pauk, Ondrej Kurka, Kristyna Mezerova, Tatana Stosova, Jan Bardon, David Milde, Pavla Kucova, Milan Kolar
Summary: Residues of multiple antibiotics were found in wastewater, with vancomycin exceeding permitted levels in a small percentage of samples. VRE were detected in wastewater, but did not show a direct correlation with vancomycin concentrations.
Article
Immunology
David Henry Greentree, Louis B. Rice, Curtis J. Donskey
Summary: There is an urgent need for surveillance to determine if C. difficile strains with reduced vancomycin susceptibility are circulating in other areas, as high-level phenotypic resistance to vancomycin has recently been reported in multiple geographic regions.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
B. Blane, F. Coll, K. Raven, O. Allen, A. R. M. Kappeler, S. Pai, R. A. Floto, S. J. Peacock, T. Gouliouris
Summary: This study investigated the impact of a long-established cardiothoracic hospital moving to new premises with close to 100% single-occupancy rooms on the rates of environmental contamination and infection or colonization by VRE. The results showed a significant reduction in VRE positivity and infection/colonization rates in the new location compared to the original location. Genomic analysis also confirmed reduced transmission in the new hospital.
JOURNAL OF HOSPITAL INFECTION
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Gulseren Aktas
Summary: Due to the high occurrence and resistance of multi-drug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria, finding alternative treatment options is necessary. Combination antibiotherapies, such as vancomycin combined with linezolid, have shown potential due to their broad spectrum and synergistic effect. In this study, the in vitro activity of this combination against clinical vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) strains was investigated. The results demonstrated a high rate of synergy and no observed antagonism, suggesting that this combination could be effective for treating VRE infections.
ARCHIVES OF MEDICAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Jorge Enrique Vazquez Bucheli, Joanna Ivy Irorita Fugaban, Wilhelm Heinrich Holzapfel, Svetoslav Dimitrov Todorov
Summary: Antibiotics have been a crucial discovery in medical microbiology, but the rise of antibiotic resistance poses a dangerous threat, driving the demand for new antimicrobials. Bacteriocins, as a type of antimicrobial peptides, can be a potential alternative to conventional antibiotics, especially in controlling resistant pathogens like VRE. The study suggests that bacteriocins show promise in inhibiting VRE strains and could be used as a novel approach to combat antibiotic-resistant infections.
Review
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
V. M. Eichel, K. Last, C. Bruhwasser, H. von Baum, M. Dettenkofer, T. Gotting, H. Grundmann, H. Guldenhoven, J. Liese, M. Martin, C. Papan, C. Sadaghiani, C. Wendt, G. Werner, N. T. Mutters
Summary: Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) infections cause a significant burden in healthcare settings, but knowledge about the epidemiology and outcomes of these infections remains fragmented. This study aimed to summarize recent research on VRE infections in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and nursing homes worldwide. The findings showed that VRE infections had a high incidence and mortality rate, but there was significant heterogeneity between regions and institutions. Moreover, the study highlighted the lack of standardized reporting of outcomes, as well as limited information on healthcare costs and state-of-the-art microbiological species identification methodology.
JOURNAL OF HOSPITAL INFECTION
(2023)
Review
Infectious Diseases
Benjamin Baetz, Abdelhakim Boudrioua, Axel Hartke, Caroline Giraud
Summary: Gram positive pathogens are a significant cause of healthcare-associated infections, with Staphylococci and Enterococci being the most prevalent ones. Although vancomycin is a last resort glycopeptide used to fight these bacteria, the emergence of resistance against this drug leaves patients with limited therapeutic options. New generations of antibiotics have been developed to counter vancomycin-resistant pathogens, but resistance has already been reported. Strategies include traditional antimicrobials and non-traditional antimicrobials, with hopes that combination therapies could provide treatment options for vancomycin-resistant Gram-positive pathogens.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
K. B. Gast, A. J. G. van Oudheusden, J. L. Murk, J. J. J. M. Stohr, A. G. Buiting, J. J. Verweij
Summary: This study investigated VRE carriers at Elisabeth-Tweesteden Hospital in 2018, identifying two outbreaks and using environmental sampling and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to study genetic relatedness. Results showed high genetic relatedness of VRE, close correlation between environmental contamination and VRE transmission, and the potential of quantifying environmental contamination to reflect VRE transmission risk.
JOURNAL OF HOSPITAL INFECTION
(2021)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Guelcin Telli Dizman, Goekhan Metan, Pinar Zarakolu, Elif Seren Tanriverdi, Guelsen Hazirolan, Hanife Aytac Ak, Dilek Kilincarslan, Mertcan Uzun, Basak Celik Kavaklilar, Zafer Arik, Baris Otlu, Serhat Uenal
Summary: This study compared the impact of different policies on the epidemiology of Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium bloodstream infections (VRE-BSIs). The results showed that the incidence rate of hospital-acquired VRE-BSIs did not increase after the cessation of routine screening, suggesting that screening policies can be adjusted according to the outbreak situation.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Jens Thomsen, Najiba M. Abdulrazzak, Hussain AlRand, Godfred Antony Menezes, Carole A. Moubareck, Dean B. Everett, Abiola Senok, Andreas Podbielski
Summary: Enterococci are causing concern due to their increasing resistance to antibiotics in the Middle East and North Africa region, and there is a lack of AMR surveillance data for enterococci in this area.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Christian Boeing, Carlos L. Correa-Martinez, Franziska Schuler, Alexander Mellmann, Andre Karch, Stefanie Kampmeier
Summary: In this study, a predictive score system (PREVENT score) was developed to assess VRE persistence in patients with a history of previous VRE colonization, providing a rapid risk assessment tool in hospitals for implementing targeted and cost-effective infection control measures.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Martin Vestergaard, Bolette Skive, Ilona Domraceva, Hanne Ingmer, Henrik Franzyk
Summary: This study identified 11 stable peptide/beta-peptoid hybrids with antibacterial activity against vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus strains, and found three analogues with bactericidal effects through membrane disruption. These findings provide promising starting points for further optimization studies.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Suraj Shrestha, Sanjeev Kharel, Sushan Homagain, Roshan Aryal, Shyam Kumar Mishra
Summary: Our study found that the pooled prevalence of VRE in Asia is 8.10%, with a higher resistance to vancomycin in E. faecium compared to E. faecalis. The highest prevalence of VRE was in Western Asia, while the lowest was in Southeast Asia. VRE rates in Asia were higher than in most European countries and lower than in the USA.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PHARMACY AND THERAPEUTICS
(2021)