Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium: A current perspective on resilience, adaptation, and the urgent need for novel strategies

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) has become a critical opportunistic pathogen, urgently requiring new antimicrobial strategies due to its rising prevalence and significant impact on patient safety and healthcare costs. VREfm continues to evolve through mutations and the acquisition of new genes via horizontal gene transfer, contributing to resistance against several last-resort antibiotics. Although primarily hospital-associated, VREfm are also detected in the community, food chain, livestock, and environmental sources like wastewater, indicating diverse transmission pathways and the need for a One Health approach. Advances in genomics have shed light on VREfm's persistence in hospital…

• FP
  Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia