The resilience of a hospital-associated bacterium dates back over a century
By combining old clinical specimens and new technology, it was determined that Enterococcus faecalis, a pathogen well known for hospital-acquired infections, has adapted to hospital conditions already in mid-nineteenth century – long before the first modern hospitals were built.
An extensive international study has discovered features related to the origin and evolution of the Enterococcus faecalis bacterium which have enabled it to survive in spite of advances associated with antibiotics and infection control in hospitals. The research consortium was led by Professor Jukka Corander, who is affiliated with the University of Helsinki, the University of Oslo and the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The results were published in March in the Nature Communications journal.
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