Source: Waikato District Health Board
Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand is managing elevated cases of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus (VRE) identified at Waikato Hospital.
What is VRE?
Enteroccocus is a bug which lives in most people’s bowels and is usually harmless. Carrying the bug this way (usually called being colonised) does not mean a person is infected so there should be no symptoms.
Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus is the same bug, but a strain which has developed resistance to the antibiotic vancomycin. This does not mean that someone who has an infection caused by VRE cannot be treated, just that they will need different antibiotics to the one usually used.
If VRE gets passed to another part of the body it can cause an infection, with symptoms dependent on which area is infected.
How is it spread?
It can be spread through contact between people, by touching shared items or surfaces that have VRE on them.
What precautions are in place?
Transmission can occur in hospitals which is why we are isolating people who test positive for VRE. This is to protect patients who are already ill and may have increased risk of developing an infection.
When cases are confirmed we identify any potential close contacts who can be screened on visiting a hospital or healthcare provider. If needed they can be isolated.
Within our hospital spaces, any area or equipment used for people with VRE must undergo an extensive cleaning process using disinfectants which eliminate the bug.
For individuals the risk of VRE can be minimised by good hand hygiene and thorough cleaning procedures.
