Enterococci are commensal microbes, part of the healthy microflora populating the human gut. But they are also opportunistic pathogens and notorious nosocomial agents with intrinsic traits that promote their pathogenesis and make them difficult to kill. In the third instalment of the Nightmare Series, hosts Angela Huttner and Thomas Tängdén are joined by enterococcal experts Kimberly Kline (University of Geneva) and Louis Rice (Brown University) to discuss what make vancomycin-resistant enterococci, or VRE, such a clinical nightmare. Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium are the focus.

This episode was edited by Kathryn Hostettler and peer-reviewed by Dr. Nunzia Esposito of the University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.

Literature 

Stellfox ME et al. J Antimicrob Chemother 14 Feb 2024. doi: 10.1128/mbio.03396-23 

Rogers R & Rice LB. Clin Infect Dis 15 Jan 2024. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciad613

Lebreton F et al. Cell 18 May 2017. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.04.027

Donskey CJ et al. N Engl J Med 28 Dec 2000. doi: 10.1056/NEJM200012283432604