Enterococcus</italic>: review of its physiology, pathogenesis, diseases and the challenges it poses for clinical microbiology

doi:10.1007/s11515-011-1167-x

Front Biol

2011, Vol. 6

Issue (5) : 357-366 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11515-011-1167-x

REVIEW

Enterococcus: review of its physiology, pathogenesis, diseases and the challenges it poses for clinical microbiology

John VU, John CARVALHO(

)

Biology Department, California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), Carson, CA 90747, USA

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Abstract

The genus Enterococcus is composed of 38 species, the most important of which are Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium—both human intestinal colonizers. Hospitals within the United States and around the world commonly isolate these bacteria because they are a cause of bacteremia, urinary tract infections (UTIs), endocarditis, wound infections, meningitis, intraabdominal and pelvic infections, and nosocomial and iatrogenic infections. Given the ubiquity of enterococci within the human population, it is important for laboratories to be able to distinguish these agents within hospitalized patients from other bacterial genera and also differentiate different species within the Enterococcus genus as well as different strains within each species. Unfortunately, the enterococci are emerging as serious pathogens in both the developed world, where surveillance needs to be improved and speciation procedures are inadequate or cumbersome, and in developing nations, which lack the trained hospital personnel or funding to sufficiently identify enterococci to the genus or species level. This review explores the Enterococcus genus and highlights some of the concerns for national and international clinical microbiology laboratories.

Keywords enterococci Staphylococcus antibiotic resistance bacteriology microbiology

Corresponding Author(s): CARVALHO John,Email:jcarvalho@csudh.edu

Issue Date: 01 October 2011

Cite this article:

John VU,John CARVALHO. Enterococcus: review of its physiology, pathogenesis, diseases and the challenges it poses for clinical microbiology[J]. Front Biol, 2011, 6(5): 357-366.

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https://academic.hep.com.cn/fib/EN/10.1007/s11515-011-1167-x
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fib/EN/Y2011/V6/I5/357

Tab.1 Enterococcal virulence factors

Tab.2 Clinical diseases caused by enterococci

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