How does vre spread

Go to whole of WA Government Search. Open search bar Open navigation Submit search. Health conditions. Facebook Youtube Twitter. Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci VRE Enterococci are bacteria germs that commonly live in the gastrointestinal tract bowels of most people this is called colonisation without causing illness.

There are other antibiotics that can be used to treat VRE infections. Who is most at risk of getting VRE infections? People whose ability to fight infections is low, such as: people with cancer those receiving dialysis people in an intensive care unit people who have had transplants. How is VRE spread? It is not spread through the air or by coughing or sneezing.

The symptoms that develop with VRE infection are the ones you would get with any other bacterial infection such as: fever feeling generally unwell rapid pulse rate redness, swelling, pain or heat at a specific site In some cases VRE can enter the bloodstream, from either an existing infection such as an abscess or urinary tract infection or from a medical device such as a urinary catheter or intravenous catheter.

If the VRE are causing infection, there are still some antibiotics that can be used. What happens if you have VRE? However, some extra precautions will be taken: You will be moved to a single room.

Everyone, including you and your visitors, will need to wash their hands or use an alcohol-based hand rub before entering or leaving your room. Wound infection symptoms might also include swelling, redness, and discharge pus. In most situations, exposure to VRE does not lead to illness. The person might carry the VRE in his or her body, but not get sick at all, or might get sick from the VRE days, weeks, or months later.

If VRE infection is suspected, a sample can be taken from the infection site e. If enterococci bacteria are isolated, more laboratory tests are needed to determine which antibiotics will be effective for treating them.

If the bacteria are resistant to the antibiotic vancomycin, a diagnosis of VRE is made. Treatment is usually not needed for people who are colonized with VRE carry VRE but do not have any symptoms of infection. Most VRE infections can be treated with antibiotics other than vancomycin. CDC works with healthcare facilities and state and local health departments to control outbreaks of resistant germs like VRE and to help devise and implement prevention strategies for facilities with high numbers of VRE infections.

Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Minus Related Pages. On This Page. How common are these infections? Top of Page. VRE stands for vancomycin -resistant enterococci. Vancomycin is an antibiotic that is commonly used to treat these infections, but as with a number of other bacteria that have developed antibiotic resistance — the ability of certain germs to fight off the drugs that have been formulated to kill them — enterococci has learned to adapt and prevail against the drug.

These hard-to-kill bacteria are called vancomycin-resistant enterococci VRE. Enterococcus infections, including VRE infections, cause a range of different symptoms depending on the location of the infection. To understand how antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as VRE emerges, it helps to first understand how bacteria and fungi change in response to medicines designed to kill them.

According to the CDC Antibiotic Resistance Threats Report, germs naturally evolve constantly, and can develop new ways to avoid the effects of antibiotics. Once that happens, the resistant germ survives and multiplies, and the surviving germs, which now have resistance traits in their DNA, pass on this genetic information to subsequent generations.

VRE are most commonly found in healthcare settings such as nursing homes or hospitals, particularly in areas where there are people with weakened immune systems such as intensive care units or cancer or transplant wards. VRE can cause infections in patients and then spread to others when the patient is transferred to another facility or goes home. If you are healthy, your chances of getting sick from VRE are very low, even if you have been exposed to the bacteria.

But if you have a weakened immune system, that can be a very different story. How long you have a VRE infection can depend on how serious it is and how well it responds to treatment. In the hospital setting, good basic hand hygiene by healthcare providers and use of gowns and gloves can also help decrease transmission, as can isolating patients who are identified as being high-risk for contracting VRE.

If you or someone in your household has VRE, the following measures can help prevent the spread of infection:. Some other statistics that illustrate the scope of the problem and our need for continued mitigation:.