Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE)
VRE stands for Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci. VRE is a type of enterococcus
bacterium that has become resistant to antibiotics such as penicillin,
gentimicin, and vancomycin. Such drugs are usually used to treat
infections with Enterococci, but do not work for fighting infections
caused by VRE.
Enterococci are bacteria that normally live in the human intestine
and female genital tract. Almost everyone acquires these organisms from
birth and carries them throughout their lives. It normally does not
cause disease, but it can cause infections in someone whose immune
system is weakened, or it can infect other parts of the body from the
intestinal tract.
General information
Vancomycin
resistant enterococci fact sheet (PDF, 13 KB) Hmong (PDF,
11 KB) Spanish (PDF,
22 KB)
Contacts
Wisconsin
Local Health Departments - Regional offices - Tribal agencies
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Last Revised:
July 05, 2012 |
