New Genomic Data Could Aid Rapid Detection of Hospital Infections

Enterococci bacteria, and in particular vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), have emerged as a leading cause of multidrug-resistant hospital-acquired infections. Key to treating and controlling these infections is rapid identification of the pathogen and treatment with the appropriate antibiotics to be effective.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School and The Broad Institute report new genomic sequencing data that can help aid in the advance detection of pathogenic enterococci. They report their findings in the current issue of mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

"In this study, we examined genome sequence data to define traits with the potential to influence host-microbe interactions and to identify sequences and biochemical functions that could form the basis for the rapid identification of enterococcal species or lineages of importance in clinical and environmental samples," write the researchers.

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