Microbiology 3302 Spring 2013 – Getting Friendly with Bacteria Toggle navigation

Hello fellow bacterial friends my name is Enterococcus Facecium

Hello fellow bacterial friends my name is Enterococcus Facecium, but you all can call me E. Facecium or Vancomycin- Resistant Enterococci (VRE). Before genomic DNA analysis showed a distinct genus classification would be applicable, I was affiliated with Group D Streptococcus until 1984 when I became part of the Enterococcus genus. My biggest attribute is that I’m a human pathogen that causes nosocomial bacteria, surgical wound infection, and urinary tract infection. The first time I made my rounds in clinical isolates was in Europe in the late 1980’s. Ever since then, I have been connected to various outbreaks of hospital- acquired or nosocomial contagions around the world. According to the CDC, the United States was linked to about 4% of healthcare- associated infections, from January 2006 to October 2007. When I’m not at hospitals causing hysteria, you can find me at gastrointestinal tract of a multitude of animals, sometimes you can even find me in oral cavities and vaginal tracts. My main home would probably be in soil, sewage and hospitals on various surfaces. I love the cold which propels me to operate in temperatures ranging from 10-45 degrees Celsius, in basic or acidic environments, and in environments which are isotonic and hypertonic. Although I’m known to cause harm in humans I also possess the ability to produce antibacterial peptides bacteriocins, which can be used in fermenting foods such as cheese and vegetables. I can also be used as a probiotic to out-compete deleterious bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract.