Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus (VRE)
VRE stands for vancomycin resistant
enterococcus. Enterococcus is a bacterium
that usually lives in the intestine. It usually
does not make you sick unless it gets into
your urine or blood. Some strains of
enterococcus have become resistant to the
antibiotic Vancomycin—these strains are
known as vancomycin resistant
enterococcus. This means the antibiotic
Vancomycin will not treat a VRE infection.
VRE is spread through physical contact,
and cannot be contracted through the air.
It can spread from patient to patient on
the hands of hospital staff or from items
that are used on or by more than one person.
Detection
A stool or rectal swab culture can tell us if
you have VRE. Cultures of other
body fluids, such as urine, blood, or fluid
from a wound may also show that you
have VRE.
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