Unraveling the resilience of vancomycin resistant E. faecium through long-term desiccation and novel decontamination methods

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) listed vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) within high priority on the global list of antibiotic resistant bacteria, emphasizing the need for the development and research of new antibiotics. One representative is vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (E.) faecium, an opportunistic pathogen that is part of the human intestinal flora but can be life threatening for immunosuppressed patients. As a cause of endemic hospital outbreaks worldwide, VRE emerged as nosocomial pathogens which can trigger bacteremia and endocarditis. Moreover, as vancomycin is the treatment of choice for these infections, therapy is limited. Here we tested the survival and metabolic activity after several months of desiccation of five representative E. faecium isolates. Additionally, novel and effective decontamination methods against these isolates were investigated. Therefore, the antimicrobial effect of blue light (408 nm) and copper coatings was determined. To estimate the risk of VRE and their role in an already existing pandemic of drug resistant infections it is essential to investigate VRE fitness and narrow down methods against the arising challenge of antibiotic resistant bacteria.