Infection Control Today Magazine

Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci

Scientists to Study Novel Treatment for Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Infections

The bacteria Enterococcus can cause infections that typically target the digestive tract or bowel; if the bacteria spread, an abdominal abscess or urinary infection could result. Enterococcus also can invade the bloodstream, leading to meningitis, pneumonia or endocarditis ...More
November 17, 2011
Posted in News, Infections & Pathogens
Genomic Analysis of Superbug Provides Clues to Antibiotic Resistance

An analysis of the genome of a superbug has yielded crucial, novel information that could aid efforts to counteract the bacterium’s resistance to an antibiotic of last resort. The results of the research led by scientists from The University of Texas Health Science Center ...More
September 8, 2011
Posted in News, Infections & Pathogens
Bleach-Based Cleaning Program Helped Reduce VRE Colonization and Disease

To reduce rates of VRE colonization/disease, Investigators from Austin Health in Melbourne, Australia and the University of Melbourne introduced a multimodal hospital-wide bleach-based cleaning program (BBCP) that included a new product (sodium hypochlorite 1000ppm ...More
July 14, 2011
Posted in News, Environmental Hygiene
Strict Infection Control Measures Helped Conquer VRE Outbreak

The incidence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) remains sporadic in Switzerland. Researchers in Lausanne, Switzerland report an unprecedented VRE outbreak in a 900-bed tertiary care hospital and describe its molecular epidemiology. VRE was detected in clinical ...More
July 12, 2011
Posted in News, Infections & Pathogens, PPE & Standard Precautions
Private Room Intensive Care Units Associated With Lower Infection Rates

Converting hospital intensive care units (ICUs) to private rooms is associated with a reduction in the rate at which patients acquire infections, according to a report in the Jan. 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. “Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) occur in ...More
January 10, 2011
Posted in News, PPE & Standard Precautions
Daily Bleach Cleaning Reduces VRE Bacteremia Rates

An Australian healthcare facility that implemented aggressive environmental hygiene interventions such as institution-wide wash-downs with bleach, coupled with infection prevention and control practices, reports that it has eradicated bloodstream infections associated with ...More
September 15, 2010
Posted in News, Disinfection & Sterilization, Environmental Hygiene
Not All Patients with VRE Need to be Isolated

While vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) have triggered multiple outbreaks, VRE of genotype vanC appear not to be associated with outbreaks, according to Sutter, et al. (2010). ...More
August 24, 2010
Posted in News
Test for VRE Colonization Approved by FDA

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. announces today that it has received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for Spectra™ VRE, a test designed to screen for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE). ...More
July 28, 2010
Posted in News
One IP's Take on Active Surveillance Testing

Shannon Oriola, RN, CIC, COHN, the department lead for infection prevention and clinical epidemiology at the Sharp Metropolitan Medical Campus in San Diego, discusses her experience with active surveillance testing (AST) in the wake of the September 2008 passage of SB 1058, ...More
April 15, 2010
Posted in Articles, PPE & Standard Precautions
Consortium to Seek and Destroy Europe’s Superbugs

The war against antibiotic resistance is now gaining momentum, as a consortium of 14 European institutes celebrates its first year of molecular scrutiny of the pathogens posing imminent health threats. The aim of the three-year project is to exploit basic biological ...More
April 14, 2010
Posted in News