Studies on resistance and response to vancomycin in Enterococcus faecalis: a last resort antibiotic

Dissertation presented to obtain a Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry by Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

Enterococci are part of the normal human and animal gut microbiota and hardly cause infections in healthy individuals. In the last 20 years enterococci have emerged as common causes of hospital-acquired infections. One of the major reasons why these microorganisms easily survive in the hospital environment is their intrinsic resistance to several commonly used antibiotics, and more importantly, their ability to acquire resistance to many currently used antibiotics, including glycopeptides. Development of resistance to the glycopeptide vancomycin in the Enterococcus genus presents a worldwide major problem. Infections with vancomycin resistant enterococci are not only difficult to treat but the organisms show a strong propensity to disseminate and spread from patient to patient in the hospital setting. Accurate knowledge of the real scenario of vancomycin resistance is essential to design national and global strategies and prevent community and nosocomial transmission of vancomycin resistant organisms.(...)

Financial Support from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) – Ph.D: grant - SFRH/BD/21535/2005.