Evolution of virulence in Enterococcus faecium, a hospital-adapted opportunistic pathogen.

Evolution of virulence in Enterococcus faecium, a hospital-adapted opportunistic pathogen. Curr Opin Microbiol. 2017 Dec 08;41:76-82 Authors: Gao W, Howden BP, Stinear TP Abstract Enterococci are long-standing members of the human microbiome and they are also widely distributed in nature. However, with the surge of antibiotic-resistance in recent decades, two enterococcal species (Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium) have emerged to become significant nosocomial pathogens, acquiring extensive antibiotic resistance. In this review, we summarize what is known about the evolution of virulence in E. faecium, highlighting a specific clone of E. faecium called ST796 that has emerged recently and spread globally. PMID: 29227922 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Current Opinion in Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Curr Opin Microbiol Source Type: research