The Norwegian VRE study

Summary

The aims of this study are to gain new insights in to the spread of antimicrobial resistance in enterococci, identify new targets for antimicrobial treatment and containment of infections caused by multidrug resistant (MDR) enterococci, and define novel infection control interventions for vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE). This will be done by analysing and comparing clinical data and Whole genomes of VRE from Norway between January 2010 and July 2015 as well as genomes from invasive non-VRE and gut commensal Enterococcus faecium isolates from a population sample. The study will take advantage of an on-going national epidemiological study of VRE in Norway and will use collections of non-VRE isolates from the Norsk Overvåkningssystem for antibiotika Resistens hos Mikrober (NORM) registry and from a general population sample (Tromsø 7). By analysing genomes and presence of virulence and resistance determinants in these different strain collections we can identify determinants best suited for anti-virulence targeting of E. faecium,
reveal unknown transmission patterns and de novo generation of VRE as well as relate the Norwegian epidemiology to the global epidemiology of VRE.