scholarly journals Enterococci: Between Emerging Pathogens and Potential Probiotics

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olfa Ben Braïek ◽  
Slim Smaoui
Keyword(s):  
Live Cells ◽  
Emerging Pathogens ◽  
Plant Soil ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci ◽  
Water Plant ◽  
Proteolytic Activities ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Transfer Mechanisms ◽  
Stimulation Of

Enterococci are ubiquitous microorganisms that could be found everywhere; in water, plant, soil, foods, and gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals. They were previously used as starters in food fermentation due to their biotechnological traits (enzymatic and proteolytic activities) or protective cultures in food biopreservation due to their produced antimicrobial bacteriocins called enterocins or as probiotics, live cells with different beneficial characteristics such as stimulation of immunity, anti-inflammatory activity, hypocholesterolemic effect, and prevention/treatment of some diseases. However, in the last years, the use of enterococci in foods or as probiotics caused an important debate because of their opportunistic pathogenicity implicated in several nosocomial infections due to virulence factors and antibiotic resistance, particularly the emergence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci. These virulence traits of some enterococci are associated with genetic transfer mechanisms. Therefore, the development of new enterococcal probiotics needs a strict assessment with regard to safety aspects for selecting the truly harmless enterococcal strains for safe applications. This review tries to give some data of the different points of view about this question.

Reporting of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci in Connecticut: Implementation and Validation of a State-Based Surveillance System

1999 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 671-675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zygmunt F. Dembek ◽  
Scott E. Kellerman ◽  
Lisa Ganley ◽  
Constance M. Capacchione ◽  
Fred C. Tenover ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Outcome Measures ◽  
Proficiency Testing ◽  
Clinical Laboratory ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Passive Surveillance ◽  
Emerging Pathogens ◽  
Clinical Laboratories ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant

AbstractObjective:To assess state-based surveillance for isolation from a sterile site of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in Connecticut.Design:Clinical laboratory reporting (passive surveillance) of VRE isolates to the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CDPH) was followed by state-initiated validation, laboratory proficiency testing, and review of hospital demographic characteristics.Settings:All 45 clinical laboratories and all 37 (36 for 1995 and 1996) acute-care hospitals in Connecticut were included in the study.Main Outcome Measures:The outcome measures included determination of the statewide incidence of VRE and the accuracy of passive reporting, determination of clinical laboratory proficiency in detecting VRE, and analysis of hospital characteristics that might be associated with an increased incidence of VRE.Results:During 1994 through 1996, 29 (78%) of 37 hospital-affiliated clinical laboratories and 1 (11%) of 9 commercial or other laboratories in Connecticut reported to the CDPH the isolation of VRE from sterile sites; 158 isolates were reported for these 3 years. Based on verification, we discovered that these laboratories actually detected 58 VRE isolates in 1994, 104 in 1995, and 104 in 1996 (total, 266). The age-standardized incidence rate of VRE was 14.1 cases per million population in 1994 and 26.8 cases per million population for both 1995 and 1996. Laboratory proficiency testing revealed that high-level vancomycin resistance was identified accurately and that low- and moderate-level resistance was not detected. The incidence of VRE isolates was three times greater in hospitals with over 300 beds compared with categories of hospitals with fewer beds. Increases in the number of VRE isolates were at least twice as likely in hospitals located in areas with a higher population density, or with a residency program or trauma center in the hospital.Conclusions:Passive reporting of VRE isolates from sterile sites markedly underestimated the actual number of isolates, as determined in a statewide reporting system. Statewide passive surveillance systems for routine or emerging pathogens must be validated and laboratory proficiency ensured if results are to be accurate and substantial underreporting is to be corrected.

Molecular epidemiology of vancomycin-resistant enterococci in Singapore

Pathology ◽  
2009 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Tse Koh ◽  
Beng Low ◽  
Nicholas Leo ◽  
Li-Yang Hsu ◽  
Raymond Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Epidemiology ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant

Prevalence of Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci in Various Clinical Specimens in Tertiary Care Hospital in North Delhi

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 141-144
Author(s):  
Swati Chaudhary ◽  
◽  
Swastika Aggarwal ◽  
Pawan Kumar ◽  
SK Aggarwal SK Aggarwal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tertiary Care Hospital ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Clinical Specimens ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant

scholarly journals Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci and Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase-Producing Bacterial Colonization of the Cervix after Emergency Cerclage: Is It Safe?

Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 933
Author(s):  
Won-Kyu Jang ◽  
Jin-Gon Bae
Keyword(s):  
Early Onset ◽  
Neonatal Death ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Bacterial Colonization ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci ◽  
Extended Spectrum ◽  
Early Onset Sepsis ◽  
Cervical Surgery ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant

Antimicrobial resistance is currently becoming a global threat to human health. We performed a retrospective study on patients who underwent emergency cerclage between January 2016 and December 2018 at the Dongsan Medical Center. Cervical culture was first performed before surgery to confirm that there was no infection and was repeated on days 1, 4, and 7 after surgery. A total of 85 pregnant women underwent emergency cerclage. Among them, six patients had vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) colonization in the cervix after cerclage, and 23 patients developed extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacterial colonization in the cervix. The average gestational age at delivery was lower in the VRE group. Neonatal death was also significantly higher in the VRE group. The rate of occurrence of early-onset sepsis was also higher in the VRE group, and both VRE and ESBL-producing bacterial colonization cases in which early-onset sepsis occurred resulted in neonatal death. The prognosis of cervical VRE colonization after cervical surgery was poor, whereas the prognosis of ESBL-producing bacterial colonization in the cervix did not differ significantly from that of the control group. However, careful neonatal treatment is required considering that early-onset sepsis is fatal to the newborn.

Timing and route of contamination of hospitalized patient rooms with healthcare-associated pathogens

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Sarah N. Redmond ◽  
Basya S. Pearlmutter ◽  
Yilen K. Ng-Wong ◽  
Heba Alhmidi ◽  
Jennifer L. Cadnum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pathogen Detection ◽  
Veterans Affairs ◽  
Portable Equipment ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Clostridioides Difficile ◽  
Bacteriophage Ms2 ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci ◽  
Observational Cohort ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant ◽  
Healthcare Associated

Abstract Objective: To investigate the timing and routes of contamination of the rooms of patients newly admitted to the hospital. Design: Observational cohort study and simulations of pathogen transfer. Setting: A Veterans’ Affairs hospital. Participants: Patients newly admitted to the hospital with no known carriage of healthcare-associated pathogens. Methods: Interactions between the participants and personnel or portable equipment were observed, and cultures of high-touch surfaces, floors, bedding, and patients’ socks and skin were collected for up to 4 days. Cultures were processed for Clostridioides difficile, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). Simulations were conducted with bacteriophage MS2 to assess plausibility of transfer from contaminated floors to high-touch surfaces and to assess the effectiveness of wearing slippers in reducing transfer. Results: Environmental cultures became positive for at least 1 pathogen in 10 (59%) of the 17 rooms, with cultures positive for MRSA, C. difficile, and VRE in the rooms of 10 (59%), 2 (12%), and 2 (12%) participants, respectively. For all 14 instances of pathogen detection, the initial site of recovery was the floor followed in a subset of patients by detection on sock bottoms, bedding, and high-touch surfaces. In simulations, wearing slippers over hospital socks dramatically reduced transfer of bacteriophage MS2 from the floor to hands and to high-touch surfaces. Conclusions: Floors may be an underappreciated source of pathogen dissemination in healthcare facilities. Simple interventions such as having patients wear slippers could potentially reduce the risk for transfer of pathogens from floors to hands and high-touch surfaces.

scholarly journals A Japanese traditional medicine Hochuekkito promotes negative conversion of vancomycin-resistant Enterococci

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Junko Kohno ◽  
Tsuyoshi Kawamura ◽  
Akiko Kikuchi ◽  
Tetsuya Akaishi ◽  
Shin Takayama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Albumin Level ◽  
Kampo Medicine ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Intestinal Immunity ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant ◽  
Japanese Traditional Medicine ◽  
Negative Conversion

AbstractVancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are prominent causes of nosocomial infections. Japanese traditional (Kampo) medicine promotes intestinal immunity and protects against bacterial infections. We assessed potential differences in the clinical course of VRE-positive patients, based on their characteristics and treatment with Kampo medicines. This retrospective observational study collected data from VRE-positive patients from August 2018 to July 2019 at a tertiary-care hospital in Japan. The data of 122 consecutive VRE-positive inpatients were analyzed. Sixty-nine patients were treated with probiotics, among whom, 18 were further treated with Kampo medicines. Twenty-six of the 122 patients subsequently died. In univariate analyses, subsequent VRE negative conversion significantly reduced the mortality of VRE-detected patients (p = .0003). Administration of probiotics (p = .0065) and Kampo medicines with probiotics (p = .0002), especially of the Kampo medicine hochuekkito (p = .0014), and a higher serum albumin level positively contributed to the subsequent VRE negative conversion. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that Kampo medicines and body mass index contributed to VRE negative conversion. Hochuekkito shortened the time needed for VRE negative conversion (p = 0.0485). Administration of Kampo medicines, especially of hochuekkito, in addition to probiotics in VRE patients may promote VRE negative conversion.

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