Enterococcus faecium

species of bacterium

Enterococcus faecium is a gram-positive spherical bacterium.[1] Enterococcus faecium was first discovered in 1919 and was misclassified as a different type of bacteria (Streptococci). A study in 1984 looked at its genetic material more closely and classified it as a different group of bacteria.[2]

Enterococci are commonly found in the gut. They have a high tolerance to salts present in this environment.[1] Elsewhere, they may cause infections.[3] Infections are always related to the urinary tract or the biliary/gastrointestinal tract. Sometimes infections can lead to bacteria present in the circulating blood (bacteremia).[1]

Hospitalized patients with weak immunity are at a great risk of Enterococcal infections due to prolonged use of antibiotics. Enterococci cause 10-15% of the infections transmitted  in a hospital that occur in the urinary tract, intra-abdomen and in the bloodstream.[1] Among Enterococci, Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium are the most common causative agents of human infections.[4]

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 19., Ryan, Kenneth J. 1940. Sherris, John C., sec. (2018). Sherris medical microbiology. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-1-259-85980-9. OCLC 1146428866. {{cite book}}: |last= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. Zhou, Xuewei; Willems, Rob J. L.; Friedrich, Alexander W.; Rossen, John W. A.; Bathoorn, Erik (2020-08-10). "Enterococcus faecium: from microbiological insights to practical recommendations for infection control and diagnostics". Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control. 9 (1): 130. doi:10.1186/s13756-020-00770-1. ISSN 2047-2994. PMC 7418317. PMID 32778149.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  3. Wanger, Audrey; Chavez, Violeta; Huang, Richard S. P.; Wahed, Amer; Actor, Jeffrey K.; Dasgupta, Amitava (2017-01-01), Wanger, Audrey; Chavez, Violeta; Huang, Richard S. P.; Wahed, Amer (eds.), "Chapter 6 - Overview of Bacteria", Microbiology and Molecular Diagnosis in Pathology, Elsevier, pp. 75–117, ISBN 978-0-12-805351-5, retrieved 2022-07-22
  4. Gao, Wei; Howden, Benjamin P; Stinear, Timothy P (2018-02-01). [https: //www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369527417300760 "Evolution of virulence in Enterococcus faecium, a hospital-adapted opportunistic pathogen"]. Current Opinion in Microbiology. Host-pathogen interactions: Evolution and regulation of host pathogen interactions. 41: 76–82. doi:10.1016/j.mib.2017.11.030. ISSN 1369-5274. PMID 29227922. {{cite journal}}: Check |url= value (help)