Enterococcus

Abstract

Enterococcus has become one of the major nosocomial pathogens, rivaling Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus for prominence in the hospital environment. Historically, the organism may not have been recognized as prominently as it is today because of its occurrence in polymicrobial infections where other organisms were present that were more likely to be implicated as the primary pathogen. In addition, its prevalence in infections is increasing because of its profound resistance to many antibiotics that are used empirically in polymicrobial infections. While some of the microbial participants in a polymicrobial infection are suppressed by the antibiotics used for first-line therapy, the resistant enterococci may persist and emerge as dominant microbes (Berger-Bachi, 2002).